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ANCIENT    ATHENS 


BY 


ERNEST   ARTHUR    GARDNER 

YATES   PROFESSOR   OF  ARCHEOLOGY   IN   UNIVERSITY   COLLEGE,   LONDON 

FORMERLY   DIRECTOR   OF  THE   BRITISH   SCHOOL  AT  ATHENS 

AUTHOR   OF   "A  HANDBOOK   OF  GREEK   SCULPTURE,"   ETC.,   ETC. 


ILLUSTRATED 


Ncfo  £9ork 
THE   MACMILLAN    COMPANY 

LONDON:   MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  Ltd. 
1907 

All  rights  reserved 


Copyright,  1902, 
By  THE  MACMILLAN   COMPANY. 


Set  up  and  electrotyped.      Published  November,  1902.     Reprinted 
October,  1907. 


Nortu  1  d  Pi  -  1 

'/.  .V.   Cusbing  Co.  — Berwick  &  Smrrb  Co. 

Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


PREFACE 

Sunt  quibus  unum  opus  est  intactae  Palladis  urbem 

Carmine  perpetuo  celebrare,  et 
Undique  decerptam  fronti  praponere  olivam. 

The  author  of  a  book  on  Ancient  Athens  must  needs 
owe  much  to  his  predecessors,  and  these  are  so  many 
that,  in  an  attempt  to  make  more  particular  acknow- 
ledgment, there  is  no  little  danger  of  omission.  In 
stating  a  few  of  the  sources  from  which  I  am  conscious 
of  having  borrowed  most,  I  have  no  wish  to  slight  the 
more  numerous  authorities  to  which  others,  and  possibly 
I  myself,  owe  as  great  or  perhaps  a  greater  debt.  But 
this  difficulty  can  hardly  be  avoided  without  allowing 
a  preface  to  grow  into  a  bibliography. 

Among  earlier  travellers,  I  have  most  frequently  con- 
sulted Wheler,  Stuart,  Dodwell,  and  Leake.  Among 
those  whom  it  has  been  my  privilege  to  hear  as  well 
as  to  read,  I  would  especially  mention  Mr.  F.  C.  Penrose, 
F.R.S.,  and  Professor  Dorpfeld.  Of  recent  works  on 
Athens,  I  have  constantly  referred  to  Curtius's  Stadt- 
geschichte  von  A  then  and  Mr.  J.  G.  Frazer's  edition  of 
Pausanias ;  Miss  Harrison  and  Mrs.  Verrall's  Mythology 
and  Monuments  of  Ancient  Athens  has  also  been  use- 
ful. The  existence  of  these  works  and  others,  such  as 
Wachsmuth's  Die  S tacit  A  then  in  Alterthum,  Hitzig  and 


vi  PREFACE 

Blumner's   edition  of   Pausanias,  Michaelis's  Der  Par- 

t  lieu  on,  and  Jahn  and  Michaelis's  Pausanice  Descriptio 
A  re  is  Atheuamm,  has  made  it  permissible  to  summa- 
rise results  rather  than  to  enumerate  details  of  evidence, 
and  I  must  refer  to  them  any  readers  who  wish  to 
follow  up  matters  of  controversy  or  obscurity  at  greater 
length  than  has  here  been  practicable  or  desirable. 
Professor  Milch  hbfer's  Schriftquellen  zur  TopograpJiie 
von  Allien,  attached  to  Curtius's  Stadtgcscliiehte,  are  par- 
ticularly convenient,  as  exempting  later  writers  from 
the  necessity  of  constantly  justifying  their  statements 
by  references  to  classical  authors. 

In  order  to  disencumber  the  book  of  controversial 
matter,  such  discussions  have  been  relegated,  as  far  as 
possible,  to  the  notes  at  the  end  of  some  of  the  chapters. 
Apart  from  these,  it  has  been  my  aim  to  give  as  clearly 
and  directly  as  possible  the  impressions  produced  by 
the  sites  and  buildings  described,  as  viewed  in  the  light 
of  the  references  made  to  them  by  classical  authors. 
Where  so  much  is  doubtful,  no  writer  can  expect  all 
his  conclusions  to  be  undisputed;  but  I  trust  that  the 
book  will  not  be  found  to  have  misrepresented  either 
the  available  evidence  or  the  theories  that  have  been 
based  upon  it.  The  more  advanced  school  of  topogra- 
phers may  probably  accuse  me  of  a  conservative  bias, 
which  I  frankly  admit,  in  so  far  as  it  implies  that,  where 
the  evidence  appears  to  be  evenly  balanced,  I  prefer  to 
follow  an  opinion  that  is  familiar  and  that  has  com- 
mended itself  to  generations  of  scholars,  rather  than  to 
adopl  the  newest  and  most  brilliant  hypothesis. 


PREFACE  vii 

The  photographic  illustrations  for  this  book  are  some 
of  them  made  from  plates  taken  expressly  for  the  pur- 
pose by  Mr.  C.  Demetriou  of  Athens.  Others  are 
selected  from  the  galleries  of  Athenian  photographers, 
especially  the  admirable  series  of  Messrs.  Rhomaides, 
whom  I  have  to  thank  for  their  courteous  permission 
to  reproduce  many  of  their  finest  plates.  The  photo- 
graphs of  sculpture  in  the  British  Museum  are  mostly 
from  Messrs.  Mansell's  collection.  I  am  also  indebted 
for  several  photographs  to  amateur  friends ;  among  these 
I  would  mention  my  nephew,  Mr.  Arthur  Gardner,  espe- 
cially for  his  telephotographic  views  of  architectural 
details,  Mr.  Stephen  Marshall,  Mr.  F.  Fletcher,  and  Miss 
Shove.  Mr.  Hasluck  kindly  made  for  me  the  sketch- 
diagram  of  the  Attic  coast. 

The  maps  and  plans  have  been  prepared  under  my 
direction  by  Messrs.  Walker  and  Cockerell.  The  maps 
are  based  upon  the  survey  in  Curtius  and  Kaupert, 
Kartcn  von  Atti/ca,  a  work  to  which  I  owe  also  a  more 
general  acknowledgment.  I  wish  to  thank  Professor 
Dorpfeld  for  his  generous  permission  to  reproduce  sev- 
eral of  his  plans.  Leave  to  make  use  of  some  plates 
from  Dr.  Middleton's  Plans  and  Drawings  of  Athenian 
Buildings  has  been  given  me  by  the  Society  for  the 
Promotion  of  Hellenic  Studies  and  by  Mrs.  Middleton, 
who  has  also  kindly  allowed  me  to  print  Dr.  Middleton's 
unpublished  plan  of  the  Parthenon. 

I  have  received  help  in  the  reading  of  the  proof-sheets 
from  my  brother,  Professor  Percy  Gardner  of  Oxford, 
and  from  my  sister,   Miss  Alice  Gardner  of  Newnham 


viii  PREFACE 

College,  Cambridge,  both  of  whom  I  have  to  thank  for 
many  useful  suggestions. 

The  question  of  the  spelling  of  Greek  names  is  always 
difficult ;  even  if  a  scientific  system  be  adopted,  it  can- 
not be  followed  with  rigid  accuracy.  My  general  rule 
has  been  to  transliterate  from  the  Greek  to  the  Latin 
alphabet  as  an  educated  Roman  would  have  done.  But 
some  exceptions,  "  Nike  "  for  example,  are  almost  inevita- 
ble for  convenience ;  nor  have  I  aimed  at  any  complete 
consistency  in  the  use  of  forms  in  -os  and  -us,  -on  and 
-urn,  a  matter  on  which  Roman  usage  itself  varied.  In 
spelling,  custom  and  familiarity  must  be  the  paramount 
considerations;  and  I  think  a  natural  reaction  is  setting 
in  among  scholars  against  a  too  indiscriminate  use  of 
k,  ei,  011,  etc.,  in  forms  that  are  often  not  only  uncouth 
in  appearance,  but  actually  misleading  in  pronunciation. 

Finally,  I  must  ask  the  indulgence  of  the  reader 
towards  a  book  printed  in  America  while  I  am  myself 
in  London,  and  under  circumstances  which  have  pre- 
cluded as  complete  a  revision  as  I  could  have  wished 
both  of  the  text  and  of  the  illustrations. 

\  \i\  ersity  i  loi  i  egi  .  London, 
October,  1902. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER   I 

PAGE 

Situation  and  Natural  Features i 

a.  The  Water  Supply 16 

b.  Building  Materials 29 

CHAPTER   II 

The  Walls  of  the  Acropolis  and  the  Town       ....      36 
a.  Two  Notes  on  Thucydides  II.  13.  6 68 

CHAPTER   III 
The  Acropolis  before  the  Persian  Wtars    ...  -73 

CHAPTER   IV 

The  Town  before  the  Persian  Wars 88 

a.  Note  on  Thucydides  II.  15.  3,4 141 

CHAPTER    V 
Early  Attic  Art       .        .        . 152 

CHAPTER   VI 
The  Acropolis  in  the  Fifth  Century 208 

CHAPTER   VII 
The  Parthenon 257 

CHAPTER    VIII 
The  Erechtheum  and  the  Temple  of  Victory    ....     353 


x  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER   IX 

PAGE 

The  City  in  the  Fifth  and  Fourth  Centuries    .        .        .        .381 

CHAPTER   X 
The  Theseum,  the  Asclepieum,  and  the  Theatre       .        .        .    410 

CHAPTER  XI 
The  Ceramicus 455 

CHAPTER   XII 
Athens  in  Hellenistic  and  Roman  Times 479 

CHAPTER   XIII 

Pausanias  in  Athens 511 

a.  On  the  Route  of  Pausanias 534 

b.  Topographical  Summary  of  Route  of  Pausanias     .        .     538 

CHAPTER   XIV 
The  Pir/Eus 542 

INDEX 565 


LIST   OF    FULL-PAGE   PLATES 


The  Acropolis,  from  the  Garden  of  the  Zappeion    .         .         .        Frontispiece 

FACING    PAGE 

The  Acropolis,  from  the  Museum  Hill 73 

The  Parthenon,  from  the  East        ........  220 

The  Parthenon,  from  the  North-west      .......  257 

Erechtheum,  from  the  West  .........  360 

Theseum  and  North  Side  of  Acropolis  .......  410 

Theatre,  from  the  East  . 434 

The  Olympieum,  from  the  South-east 486 


PLANS 

The  Dipylon  Gate  ..........       62 

Excavation  West  of  Acropolis        .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .108 

The  Parthenon       ...........     260 

The  Erechtheum    ...........     356 

The  Erechtheum  —  Section  from  East  to  West       .....     358 

Dionysiac  Theatre  ..........     436 

Scena  of  Theatre   ...........     444 

Library  of  Hadrian 498 

Galley-slips  in  Harbour  of  Munychia      .         .         .         .         .         .         -554 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Athens,  from  the  Sea     . 

The  Sea,  from  the  Museum  Hill 

The  Sea,  from  the  Museum  Hill 

Olive  Grove  near  Athens,  at  Kolokython 

Athens,  from  the  Observatory  Hill 

Athens,  from  the  Observatory  Hill 

The  Acropolis,  from  Lycabettus 

Pentelicus  in  Winter,  from  near  Cynosarges 

Diagram  of  Attic  Coast  as  seen  from  the  Sea 

Tourkovouni  and  Lycabettus 

Athens,  from  the  South 

Athens,  from  the  South 

The  Acropolis  and  Salamis    ... 

Callirrhoe,  and  Ridge  of  Rock  in  the  Bed  of  the  Ilissus 

Interior  of  the  Cave  in  the  Asclepieum    . 

Steps  leading  to  Clepsydra     . 

Door  of  Clepsydra  .... 

Aqueduct  built  by  Pisistratus 

End  of  Roman  Aqueduct 

Naxian  Quarry,  with  Unfinished  Colossus 

Ancient  Quarry  on  Pentelicus 

Wall  and  Tower  at  Tiryns 

Wall  at  Mycenae     ..... 

Pelasgic  Wall  at  the  South-east  of  the  Acropolis 

Rocks,  Cleft,  and  Steps  cut  in  Rock,  on  North-west  of  Acropolis 

Acropolis  from  Areopagus,  showing  Caves  and  Long  Rocks 

Wall  South  of  Dipylon  Gate 

Marble  Drums 

The  Acropolis,  from  the  South,  showing  the  Cimonian  Wall 

Bastion  and  Temple  of  Nike,  from  below 

The  Acropolis,  from  the  West 

The  Dipylon  Gate 

The  Sacred  Gate   . 

The  Barathron 

The  Arch  of  Hadrian 

A  Rock-cut  House 


PAGE 

2 
2 

3 

5 
6 

7 
8 

9 
io 
1 1 

12 

•3 
'5 

20 
22 
24 
2S 

-7 

28 
32 

34 
40 

4i 
43 
46 
48 

5° 
52 
53 

55 
60 
62 

65 
66 

67 

73 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Koile.  with  Foundations  of  Houses  and  Steps 

Koile,  with  Rock-cut  Foundations 

Foundation  of  Peristyle  of  Old  Temple 

Great  Altar  of  Rock  and  View  of  North-east  Corner  of 

Lycabettus.  from  the  Acropolis 

Cave  of  Apollo       .... 

Cave  of  Pan  ..... 

Pit  of  Sacrifice  in  Asclepieum 

Polygonal  Walls  of  Cistern    . 

The  Pnyx,  from  the  Areopagus 

Bema  and  Rock-cut  Wall  of  Pnyx 

Excavations  West  of  Acropolis 

Early  Precinct  of  Dionysus    . 

The  Olympieum  and  Stadium,  from  the  Acropolis 

Stadium  (before  Recent  Restoration),  and  Modern  Brid 

Site  of  Agora,  from  Acropolis 

Site  of  Agora,  from  near  Theseum 

Site  of  Agora,  from  near  Theseum 

District  of  Limnae  .... 

Dipylon  Vase,  with  Funeral   . 

Amphora  from  Hymettus 

Early  Prothesis  Vase,  with  Tomb  . 

Early  Pediment — -Heracles  and  Hydra 

Part  of  Early  Pediment  —  Heracles  and  Triton 

Bull  and  Lions       ...... 

Man  carrying  Calf 

Female  Draped  Figure 

Relief  of  the  Nymphs  or  Horae 

Kl.it  Decorative  Bronze  Relief  of  Athena 

Bronze  Statuette  of  Athena  Promachos  . 

Bronze  Statuette  of  an  Athlete 

Head  of  a  Young  Man    ..... 

Rough  Terrace  Wall  and  Staircase  South  of  Parti 
Athenian  ( loin       ...... 

View  from  near  Temple  of  Nike     . 
Propylaea,  from  Nike  Bastion,  in  Turkish  Times 
North  End  of  West  Front  of  Parthenon 
The  Propylaea,  from  South  Wing  . 
Propylaea,  from  the  East        .... 

Propylaea,  from  the  North-east 

Propylaea  i  Side  Aisle  .,t'  Central  Hall    . 

I )'  t.iil  i  oi  tin-  lunir  ( >rder  (Priene) 

Ba  tion  and  Temple  of  Nike,  from  the  North 

Ere<  htheum,  from  t In-  South-east  . 

Inscribed  Basis  of  Statue  of  Athena  Hygieia  by  Py 


Parthenon 


;er  Ilissus 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


xv 


f  Surface 


S.  I.,  in  situ 


Athenian  Coin        ...... 

Early  Seated  Statue  of  Athena 

Heading  of  a  Treaty  between  Athens  and  Samos 

Portrait  of  Pericles  ..... 

The  Parthenon  in  Turkish  Times  . 

Interior  of  Parthenon,  looking  East 

North  Side  of  Parthenon,  showing  Curve  of  Steps 

Unfinished  Drums  of  Columns 

Joint  of  Fallen  Drum,  showing  Various  Working  o 

Section  of  Part  of  Parthenon,  Restored 

South-west  Corner  of  Parthenon,  showing  Metope 

Metope  S.  XXVIII. 

Metope  S.  XXVII. 

Metope  S.  VII 

Metope  S.  XXX 

Metope  S.  XXXI. 

Carrey's  Sketch  of  West  Pediment 

Carrey's  Sketch  of  East  Pediment . 

Cecrops  and  Daughter  . 

Birth  of  Athena     .... 

Sketch  Restoration  of  East  Pediment 

"Horse"  and  Iris,  from  East  Pediment 

"  Theseus,"  from  East  Pediment     . 

Three  Draped  Female  Figures,  from  North  End  of  East  Ped 

De  Laborde  Head,  probably  from  Parthenon  Pediment 

Horse  of  Selene,  from  East  Pediment     . 

West  Frieze  of  Parthenon      .... 

Knights,  from  North  Frieze   .... 

North  Frieze  of  Parthenon  (Older  men) 
North  Frieze  of  Parthenon  (Men  bearing  vases) 
North  Frieze  of  Parthenon  (Cows) 
North  Frieze  of  Parthenon  (Sheep) 
East  Frieze  of  Parthenon  (Maidens) 
East  Frieze  of  Parthenon  (Group  of  gods) 
East  Frieze  of  Parthenon  (Priest,  priestess,  and  attendants 
of  gods)  ...... 

West  Frieze  of  Parthenon,  in  situ 

South  Frieze  of  Parthenon      .... 

Group  of  Three  Gods     ..... 

Athena  Parthenos  —  Lenormant  Statuette 

Erechtheum,  from  the  South-east  . 

Part  of  North  Portico  of  Erechtheum 

Capital  of  Column,  North  Portico  of  Erechtheum 

Base  of  Column,  North  Portico  of  Erechtheum 

Band  of  Carving,  from  Top  of  Wall  of  Erechtheum 


ment 


and 


group 


248 
251 

254 
255 
261 
268 
272 
275 
277 
280 
285 
286 
287 
289 
290 
291 

294 
295 
302 
306 
308 

3IQ 
3i6 
3i8 
320 
322 
324 
325 
326 

327 
328 
329 
33° 
332 

333 
336 
339 
34i 
345 
353 
366 

367 
367 
368 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Theatre 


'•Caryatids"  of  Erechtheum  . 

Temple  of  Athena  Nike,  from  the  North-east 

Slab  of  South  Frieze  of  Temple  of  Nike 

Slab  from  Balustrade  of  Temple  of  Nike 

Slab  from  Balustrade  of  Temple  of  Nike 

Cave  above  Theatre        .... 

Choragic  Monument  of  Thrasyllus  above  Theatre  in  Turkish 

Theseum,  from  the  West,  showing  Frieze,  in  situ 

Metope  of  Theseum        .... 

Metope  of  Theseum       .... 

Athenian  Coin        ..... 

Middle  Block  of  Front  Seats  in  the  Theatre 

Theatre  and  Olympieum,  from  Acropolis 

Relief  from  Theatre        .... 

Relief  from  Theatre        .... 

Sculptured  Frieze,  supporting  Later  Stage  in 

Marble  Lutrophoros  and  Lecythi  on  Relief 

Monument  of  Hegeso     .... 

Tomb  Relief 

Monument  of  Dexileos  .... 

Tomb  Relief  (Family  group  —  parting  scene) 

Tomb  Relief  (Old  man,  young  athlete,  and  slave  boy) 

Tomb  Relief  (Young  warrior  seated  on  prow  of  ship) 

Tomb  Relief  (Deceased  as  hero  at  a  banquet) 

Marble  Lutrophoros  with  Relief 

Stoa  of  Attalus       .... 

Capital  of  Column  in  Olympieum    . 

Tower  of  the  Winds 

Gate  of  Roman  Market 

Monument  of  Philopappus 

West  End  of  Library  of  Hadrian    . 

Odeum  of  Regilla  .... 

Roman  Baths  .... 

Harbour  of  Phalerum  and  Phaleric  Bay 

General  View  of  Piraeus  from  Munychia 

General  View  of  Piraeus  from  Munychia 

Harbour  of  Phalerum  (Fanari) 


Times 


ANCIENT    ATHENS 


ANCIENT    ATHENS 

CHAPTER    I 

SITUATION  AND  NATURAL  FEATURES 

'Epex#e('Sui  to  -rraXaiov  oX/3iol, 
Kal  OeC)v  7rat8es  fxanapow,  icpas 
Ycipas  aTropOrjTOv  t    a.Tro<pep(3op.evoi 

KXf.LV0TO.TaV   0~O<pLU.V,    a€L    Old  Xup.TTpOTO.TOV 

jSaivovres  aj3pu)<;  aiOipos,  IvOa  iroO   dyvds 
ivvla  IIiepi8as  Moixras  Xeyovat 
$av8av   Appovcav  (pvrtvaai ' 
toD  KaXXivdov  t    a7ro  K.r)<pio-ov  poas 
Ta.v  KuVpiv  kXt>]£,ovo~i.v  a<f>vo~o~ap.zvuv 
^ojpas  K-ara7rver»crat  perpias  drepajy 
•^8u7rvoous  aupas  '    dei  o    em fiuLXXo/xevav 
^atVato-tv  evcoSrj  po8ewv  ttXokov  avdewv 
Ta  o~o<f>ia  7rap€'8povs  7re/A7reiv  tpwra?, 


7ravTotas  dptTas  £vv£pyovs. 


Eur.  Afo/.  824-845. 


It  is  always  instructive  to  trace  the  influence  of  geo- 
graphical conditions  upon  the  history  of  a  people  and 
upon  its  national  character;  this  influence  is  peculiarly 
strong  in  the  case  of  the  Greeks,  who  were  keenly 
sensitive  to  their  surroundings,  whether  natural  or  arti- 
ficial. It  was  not  only  the  material  conduct  of  life, 
in  politics  and  in  commerce,  that  was  thus  affected, 
but  the  aesthetic  propriety  of  artistic  and  literary  forms, 
or  even  of  national  aims  and  ambitions. 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


Athens  from  the  Sea. 
New  Phalerum  in  front;    Tourkovouni  and  Pentelicus  behind. 

The  clear  air  and  temperate   climate   of   Athens  are 
constantly  dwelt  on  by  Attic  writers  as  influencing  the 


Till'    Si  \    FROM     I  ill'.    MUSEUM    I  I  II  I  . 

e  Phaleric  Bay;   Piraeus  to  the  right,  JEgiaa.  above,  to  the  left. 


SITUATION    AND    NATURAL   FEATURES  3 

character  of  her  people.  This  clear  and  luminous  air 
may  still  be  appreciated  by  a  visitor  to  Athens.  Not 
only  the  sea  with  the  nearer  islands  of  Salamis  and 
/Egina,  but  also  the  more  distant  coast  of  Argolis, 
are  constant  features  in  the  landscape,  while  even  Cyl- 
lene  and  Erymanthus  and  Parnon,  eighty  to  a  hundred 
miles  away  in  the  heart  of  the  Peloponnese,  are  fre- 
quently visible.  Yet  there  is  none  of  the  hardness 
of  outline  which  often  accompanies  extreme  clearness; 
everything  is  seen  through  a  kind  of  luminous  haze 
which  often  makes  the  distances  difficult  to  realise. 
Perhaps  the  temperate  climate  of  Athens  is  not  always 
so  obvious  to  modern  travellers,  especially  when  a  cold 


The  Sea  from  the  Museum  Hill. 
Salamis  beyond. 


4  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

north  wind  is  sweeping  down  from  Thrace  in  winter 
or  early  spring,  or  when  a  June  sun  is  reflected  from 
the  white  marble  walls  and  pavements.  It  is,  indeed, 
probable  enough  that  the  climate  has  suffered  a  good 
deal  from  the  denudation  of  the  soil,  and,  above  all, 
from  the  destruction  of  the  forests  in  comparatively 
modern  times.  But  in  spring  and  autumn,  and  even 
sometimes  in  winter,  the  climate  of  Athens  resembles  in 
many  ways  that  of  an  English  summer  at  its  best ;  while 
even  in  the  hottest  time  of  year  the  Athenians  of 
to-day  claim  that  the  heat  is  never  unbearable,  thanks 
to  the  sea  breeze  that  regularly  springs  up  about  ten 
in  the  morning. 

Those  who  have  not  realised  the  exact  position  of 
Athens  on  the  map  are  sometimes  surprised,  when  first 
they  go  there,  to  find  the  sun  setting  over  a  western  sea. 
Yet  this  is  a  fact  which  probably  had  some  influence, 
not  only  over  the  light  and  colouring  of  the  Athenian 
landscape,  but  also  on  the  history  of  the  people.  For, 
while  the  whole  v'Egean  was  readily  accessible  to  the 
navies  and  the  commerce  of  the  Athenians,  the  sea  that 
lay  beneath  their  eyes  was  an  inlet  into  the  Greek  main- 
land. The  diversity  of  sea  and  land,  as  seen  in  the  view 
over  the  Saronic  Gulf  from  Athens,  is  not  only  beautiful 
in  itself,  but  also  full  of  invitation  to  sailors  who,  like 
the  Greeks,  shunned  the  open  sea.  To  them  a  maritime 
empire  and  an  island  or  peninsular  empire  were  synony- 
mous ;  and  here  its  conditions  were  most  happily 
combined. 


SITUATION    AND   NATURAL    FEATURES  5 

At  first,  however,  it  was  the  more  immediate  and 
material  necessities  of  life  that  had  most  influence. 
The  geographical  position  of  Athens  combined  most 
of  the  requirements  that  were  essential  to  the  security 
and   prosperity   of  a   Greek   city.     We   find    that   these 


Olive  Grove  near  Athens,  at  Kolokythou. 

Acropolis  in  middle  distance. 

requirements  are  provided  for,  in  a  greater  or  a  less 
degree,  in  the  case  of  most  of  the  principal  towns  of 
Greece.  We  may  roughly  classify  them  under  three 
heads:  provision  of  food,  protection  from  enemies,  and 
means  of  commerce. 

The  question  of  food  supply  in  early  times  practically 
resolves  itself  into  pasturage  and  agriculture,  though  in 
the  great  days  of  Athens,  as  in  modern  England,  it  was 
mainly  a  question  of  commerce  and  control  of  the  sea. 
Pasturage  for  flocks  of  sheep,  goats,  and  pigs  was  to  be 
found  in  the  low-growing  plants  and  shrubs  that  cover 
the  Greek  mountains,  and  so  was  practically  ubiquitous 


6  ANCIENT  ATHENS 

in  Greece.  Cattle  can  never  have  been  reared  in  any 
great  quantity  in  the  grassless  plains  of  Attica,  and  must 
then,  as  now,  have  been  imported.  Corn  will  grow  in 
the  Athenian  plain,  though  the  soil  is  light  and  the  crop 
is  usually  a  thin  one ;  elsewhere   in   Attica  the  soil  is 


Athens  from  the  Observatory  Hill. 
Theseum  and  Lycabettus;  above,  Tourkovouni  and  Pentelicus. 

better  adapted  to  it,  especially  in  the  Rharian  plain  near 
Eleusis,  where,  according  to  the  religious  tradition,  the 
gift  of  Demeter  was  fust  planted  upon  the  earth  by 
Triptolemus.  The  vine  grows  freely  round  Athens, 
usually  in  dwarf  bushes  to  escape  the  force  of  the  wind; 


SITUATION    AND    NATURAL    FEATURES  7 

the  wine  of  Attica  was  not  famous  in  antiquity,  but  it 
probably  was  produced  abundantly,  as  in  modern  times, 
for  the  use  of  the  inhabitants.  But,  above  all,  the  prod- 
uce of  the  Athenian  plain  is  the  olive,  the  gift  of  Athena 
to  her  chosen  city.     The  course  of  the  Cephisus,  from 


Athens  from  the -Observatory  Hill. 

Areopagus  and  Acropolis  ;    above,  Hymettus. 

its  source  right  down  to  the  sea,  is  marked  by  a  broad 
belt  of  olive  groves,  which  have  probably  occupied  the 
same  ground  in  continuous  succession  since  the  first 
scions  of  the  sacred  tree  of  Athena  were  planted  there. 
With  such  resources  available,  it  was  inevitable  that  the 


8  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

Athenian  plain  should  come  to  be  occupied  by  a  city. 
Indeed,  one  is  even  inclined  at  first  to  dispute  the  cor- 
rectness of  Thucydides,  when  he  gives  the  lightness  of 
the  Attic  soil  as  the  reason  why  the  country  had  es- 
caped foreign  occupation,  and  its  autochthonous  inhab- 
itants had  remained  undisturbed  from  the  earliest  times. 
But  he  doubtless  had  in  his  mind  an  implied  comparison 
with  the  rich  plains  of  Laconia  and  Messenia,  or  even  of 
Argos  or  Bceotia ;  and  it  is  true  that  the  product  of 
these  districts  is  more  varied,  partly  owing  to  the  greater 
fertility  of  the  soil,  partly  to  the  superior  and  more  con- 
tinuous supply  of  water.  The  agricultural  resources  of 
Attica,  if  not  tempting  to  a  conqueror,  were  at  least 
adequate  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  inhabitants. 


iMifift 

m«l  Htfti.      ^          ■*-■' 

-*?**•  i  <X.  >iU      ef'      •;      ' 

:VTI 

-^C  j 

'-.".     ..--     W       -sJi 

Tin     A.CROPI  his,    FROM    1  ,\<  \ s, 


From  the  point  of  view  of  defence,  the  situation  of 
Athens  is  similar  to  that  of  Argos,  Megara,  Corinth,  and 
others  of  the  chief  towns  of  Greece.  It  is  grouped 
around  the  defensible  citadel  of  the  Acropolis,  which 
according  to  Thucydides  formed,  with  its  immediate 
surroundings,  the  whole  town  in  early  times.     This  rock 


SITUATION    AND    NATURAL   FEATURES  9 

is  situated  in  the  midst  of  the  plain ;  though  not  so 
commanding  in  height  as  the  Acrocorinth  or  the 
Larissa  of  Argos,  it  is  far  more  convenient  and  acces- 
sible. It  is  four  or  five  miles  from  the  sea,  and  thus  safe 
from  any  sudden  descent  of  enemies  or  pirates ;  the  sea 
is  so  clearly  visible  from  many  parts  of  the  town  that,  in 
case  of  any  hostile  approach,  there  was  time  enough  to 


Pentelicus  in  Winter,  from  near  Cynosarges. 

warn  the  inhabitants  of  the  plain  to  take  refuge  in  the 
citadel.  An  attack  by  land  was  almost  equally  well 
guarded  against.  The  mountains  that  surround  the 
plain  are  nowhere  so  near  the  city  that  an  enemy  could 
suddenly  pour  over  them  without  giving  any  warning  of 
his  approach.  On  the  south-east  is  the  long  ridge  of 
Hymettus,  on  the  north-east  Pentelicus ;  between  the 
two  is  a  low  pass  that  leads  to  Marathon,  and  that  is 
the  natural  route  for  an  invader  who  has  landed  upon 
the  east  coast  of  Attica ;  there  is  another  route  between 
Hymettus  and  the  sea,  but  it  is  not  one  that  a  stranger 


IO 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


^     O 


ss 


would  be  likely  to  take.  To  the  north-west 
the  Athenian  plain  is  separated  from  the 
Eleusinian  by  the  low  but  rocky  ridge  of 
y^igaleos.  There  is  a  low  pass,  which  is 
crossed  by  a  fortification  wall  of  uncertain 
date,  between  this  and  Parnes  on  the  north ; 
and  it  is  intersected  in  the  midst  by  the  pass 
of  Daphne,  along  which  runs  the  Sacred  Way 
to  Eleusis.  These  were  the  usual  routes  of 
any  army  attacking  Athens  from  the  main- 
land, as  in  the  Peloponnesian  War;  and 
they  seem  never  to  have  been  regarded  as 
defensible,  probably  because  they  could  all 
be  turned  by  light-armed  troops  crossing 
the  ridge,  which,  though  steep,  is  nowhere 
inaccessible;  but  the  distance  from  Athens 
of  either  pass  is  so  great  that  they  offered 
no  risk  of  surprise.  Between  Parnes  and 
Pentelicus  there  is  a  tract  of  broken  ground, 
which  affords  the  most  direct  route  to 
Marathon,  and  by  which  the  Athenians  re- 
turned in  their  forced  march  after  the  bat- 
tle ;  but  this  would  hardly  be  chosen  by  any 
who  did  not  know  the  country;  another 
route  through  the  same  gap  leads  beneath 
Decelea  and  past  the  frontier  fortress  of 
QEnoe  l<>  the  north-eastern  portion  of  Boeotia. 
The  Athenian  plain  itself  is  divided  in  the 
midst  by  a  range  of  hills  which  ends,  toward 


SITUATION    AND    NATURAL   FEATURES 


ii 


Athens,  in  the  peak  of  Lycabettus ;  the  ancient  name 
of  this  range  is  not  certainly  known  ;  it  is  now  called 
Tourkovouni  (the  Hill  of  the  Turks),  for  what  reason 
I  do  not  know.  Lycabettus  is  now,  and  must  always 
have  been,  the  most  conspicuous  object  in  the  imme- 
diate surroundings  of  Athens ;  the  scanty  references  to 
it  in  ancient  literature  are  always  a  puzzle  to  those  who 
have  seen  it.  Between  it  and  the  sea  are  a  series  of 
lower  hills,  —  first  the   Acropolis,  with   its  satellite  the 


Tourkovouni  and  Lycabettus.     Pentelicus  behind. 

In  front,  the  Areopagus  is  just  visible  on  the  left,  the  Acropolis  on  the  right. 

Areopagus,  and  further  still  the  range  that  extends  from 
the  hill  now  crowned  by  the  Observatory  on  the  north 
to  the  Museum  with  the  monument  of  Philopappus  on 
the  south,  the  Pnyx  lying  in  the  midst  between  them. 
The  similar  geological  formation  of  all  these  hills, 
which  consists  of  a  mass  of  limestone  above  and  of  sand- 
stone below,  probably  suggested  to  Plato '  the  most 
remarkable   piece    of    geological  theorising   of  ancient 

1  Critias,  112,  A. 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


times,  in  which  he  anticipates  much  of  the  modern 
view  of  subaerial  denudation,  and  also  makes  several 
statements  as  to  the  climate  of  Athens  which  are  as 
true  to-day  as  when  he  wrote  them.  The  original 
city,  he  says,  stretched  from  Lycabettus  to  the  Pnyx, 
and  from  the  Ilissus  to  the  Eridanus  ;  and  it  is  evident 
from   his  description  that  he  regards  the  whole  of  this 


Athens  from  the  South. 
Museum  Hill  and  Acropolis. 

area  as  a  plateau,  originally  level,  of  which  the  hills 
that  are  now  to  be  seen  are  the  only  surviving  por- 
tions. The  rest,  he.  says,  has  been  washed  away  by 
floods ;  and  his  view  is  the  same  as  that  of  modern 
geologists,  except  that  they  would  probably  regard 
the  process  as  a  slower  one  than  he  imagined.  He 
also  notices  that  a  similar  process  has  been  going  on 
throughout  Attica,  that  the  hills  now  showing  are  like 
a  skeleton,  from  which  its  flesh —  that  is,  the  soil  — 
has  been  washed  away.     In  former  days,  he  says,  there 


SITUATION    AND    NATURAL    FEATURES  13 

was  much  more  wood,  and  the  ground  consequently 
held  and  stored  the  water  better,  instead  of  allowing 
it  to  run  away  at  once  into  the  sea  as  soon  as  a  shower 
had  fallen.  All  these  remarks  are  just  what  might 
be,  and  indeed  have  been,  made  by  a  man  with  an 
eye  for  country  when  he  visits  Athens  now;  but  it 
is  interesting  to  find   that  the   same  process  was  going 


Athens  from  the  South. 
Olympieum  and  Lycabettus. 


on    in    the    fourth    century    B.C.,  and    even    that   it    had 
already    achieved    many    of   the    same    results. 

However  interesting  Plato's  suggestions  may  be  as 
a  piece  of  geological  speculation,  they  affect  a  period 
too  remote  to  have  any  relation  to  historical  geog- 
raphy. When  the  earliest  settlers  whom  we  can  trace 
established  their  abode  there,  the  various  hills  of 
Athens  must  have  been  just  about  as  they  are  now. 
The  use  that  was  made  of  them  for  purposes  of  fortifi- 
cation we  shall   see  later;  it   is  enough  to  observe  for 


i4  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

the  present  that  the  Acropolis  must  always  have  been 
the  most  suitable  as  a  citadel,  and  that  the  other  hills, 
though  useful  as  outworks,  did  not  in  any  way  menace 
its  security. 

The  plain  and  the  citadel  being  thus  available  for  food 
supply  and  for  defence,  it  remains  to  consider  the  third 
requirement  of  an  ancient  city  —  in  this  case,  perhaps, 
the  most  important  of  all.  The  mountainous  nature  of 
Greece  and  the  immense  length  of  its  coast  line,  which 
allows  no  place  on  the  mainland  to  be  more  than  twro  or 
three  days'  journey  from  the  sea,  imply  of  necessity  that 
maritime  carriage  was  the  most  important.  Even  in 
these  days  of  roads  and  railways,  the  coasting  trade  still 
represents  a  considerable  proportion  of  the  commerce 
even  on  the  mainland  ;  and  the  traffic  with  the  islands  is 
hardly  less  in  extent.  In  ancient  times  the  proportion 
of  sea-borne  to  overland  commerce  was  probably  even 
higher,  and  Athens,  at  its  convenient  distance  from 
the  sea,  and  with  its  excellent  harbours,  had  every 
opportunity  for  acquiring  it.  There  were  many  com- 
mercial rivals  in  early  times,  and  Miletus  and  Chalcis, 
/Egina  and  Corinth,  bade  fair  even  to  surpass  Athens. 
The  commanding  position  which  she  obtained  was 
doubtless  due  in  the  first  place  to  the  enterprise  and 
versatility  of  her  inhabitants,  but  partly  also  to  her 
geographical  position,  which  gave  her  a  footing  on 
the  mainland  as  well  as  an  excellent  base  from  which 
to  control  the  sea.  It  is  probably  this  advantage 
of    a    continental    over    a   purely    insular    position    that 


SITUATION    AND    NATURAL    FEATURES 


J5 


The  Acropolis  and  Salamis. 
From  south  slope  of  Lycabettus. 

enabled  Athens  to  surpass  some  of  her  ancient  rivals, 
just  as  it  is  enabling  the  Piraeus  at  the  present  day 
to  outstrip  the  rival  port  of  Syra.  On  the  other  hand, 
Attica  is  not  a  highway  of  traffic  like  the  Isthmus; 
by  lying,  as  it  were,  in  a  backwater  from  the  main 
streams  of  commerce,  Athens  escaped  the  commercial 
temptations  of  Corinth,  which  brought  with  them  an 
enervation  and  luxury  that  were  fatal  to  political  and 
even  literary  vigour  and  independence.  The  distance 
of  Athens  from  the  sea  was  sufficient,  as  we  have  seen, 
for  security  from  attacks ;  but  it  was  not  great  enough 
to  cause  any  inconvenience.  The  description  of  the 
various  harbours  of  Athens  must  be  reserved  for  the 
chapter  on  the  Piraeus.  Here  it  suffices  for  us  to 
notice    that     they     offered     every     natural     advantage 


1 6  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

demanded  by  the  changing  conditions  of  earlier  and 
later  times,  in  the  open,  sandy  bay  of  Phalerum,  admi- 
rably adapted  for  the  beaching  of  ships,  and  in  the  three 
closed  harbours  of  the  Piraic  promontory,  which  offered 
complete  protection  both  from  storms  and  from  hostile 
attacks. 

With  all  these  natural  advantages,  we  need  not  so 
much  wonder  at  the  commanding  position  of  Athens 
among  the  cities  of  Greece,  as  at  the  fact  that  she  did 
not  assume  her  destined  role  until  a  comparatively 
advanced  period  in  the  history  of  Greek  civilisation. 

/  a.      The  Water  Supply 

Athens  is  but  ill  supplied  with  water  naturally,  and 
the  provision  of  a  sufficient  supply  for  the  growing 
town  must  always  have  been  a  difficult  matter  for  its 
rulers.  The  two  chief  streams  of  the  Athenian  plain 
are,  as  is  well  known,  the  Ilissus  and  the  Cephisus. 
But  the  Cephisus,  though  it  irrigates  the  olive  groves 
that  were  among  the  chief  agricultural  resources  of 
Athens,  nowhere  approaches  within  a  mile  of  the  town; 
and  the  Ilissus,  though  it  passes  much  nearer,  has  but 
a  scanty  and  intermittent  stream,  and  is  liable  to  con- 
tamination in  its  upper  course.  A  third  stream,  the 
Eridanus,  is  taken  by  Plato  as  bounding  the  original 
plateau  of  the  town  of  Athens  on  the  opposite  side 
from  the  Ilissus,  and  these  two  are  also  mentioned  by 
Pausanias  as  the  two  rivers   of  Athens.     Older  topog- 


SITUATION   AND   NATURAL  FEATURES  17 

raphers,  by  an  unaccountable  error,  place  the  Eri- 
danus  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Ilissus.  There  can  be 
no  doubt  that  Professor  Dorpfelcl  is  right  in  identify- 
ing it  with  the  stream  which  rose  upon  the  slope  of 
Lycabettus,  passed  through  the  region  occupied  by 
the  modern  town,  and  in  part  also  by  the  ancient,  and 
flowed  out  through  the  narrow  gap  in  the  city  wall  to 
the  south  of  the  Dipylon  Gate.  In  later  times  this 
stream,  like  the  Fleet  Ditch  of  London,  was  practically 
the  main  drain  of  the  town ;  it  was  covered  over  for 
most  of  its  course,  and  an  arch  and  sluice  gates  be- 
longing to  it  may  still  be  seen  near  the  Dipylon. 
The  only  difficulty  in  identifying  it  with  the  Eri- 
danus  lies  in  Pausanias'  statement  that  the  Eridanus 
was  a  tributary  of  the  Ilissus,  while  this  stream  appar- 
ently runs  in  the  direction  of  the  Cephisus ;  but  on 
Curtius'  map  of  prehistoric  Athens l  it  takes  a  turn 
to  the  south  after  leaving  the  town,  and  so  joins  the 
Ilissus  just  before  that  stream  itself  runs  into  the 
Cephisus.  The  ground  enclosed  by  the  Eridanus  and 
Ilissus  thus  fits  in  admirably  with  Plato's  theory  as  to 
the  boundaries  of  the  original  plateau.  In  early  times 
the  water  of  the  Eridanus  may  have  been  serviceable 
as  it  ran  through  the  fields  where  the  town  was  later 
built.  Strabo  says  its  springs  could  still  be  seen  out- 
side the  Gate  of  Diochares,  near  the  Lyceum,  but  to 
later  writers  it  seemed  ludicrous  to  think  of  drinking 
its  water,  which  was  not  fit  even  for  cattle. 

1  Stadtgesch.  II. 
C 


1 8  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

In  the  absence  of  satisfactory  rivers,  springs  were  of 
the  utmost  importance.  There  were  several  of  these  in 
Athens ;  when  Pausanias  expressly  says  that  there  was 
only  one,  he  probably  means  only  one  that  gave  an  ade- 
quate supply  of  drinking  water.  This  is  the  famous 
Enneacrunus,  which  was,  as  he  says,  so  called,  "  the 
Fountain  of  Nine  Spouts,"  because  of  the  manner  id 
which  it  had  been  decorated  by  Pisistratus.  Other- 
wise, he  says,  the  Athenians  depended  on  the  wells 
that  were  scattered  all  about  the  city.  So  far  his  testi- 
mony is  probably  to  be  accepted,  and  is  in  accordance 
with  what  we  learn  from  other  sources,  though  there 
are  extremely  grave  difficulties  in  the  way  of  recon- 
ciling the  position  he  appears  to  indicate  for  this  spring 
with  the  evidence  of  other  writers.1  The  other  chief 
authority  as  to  this  spring  is  Thucydides.  In  his 
account  of  the  early  city  of  Athens,  he  says  that  it 
comprised  only  the  Acropolis  and  the  district  imme- 
diately to  the  south  of  it.2  After  quoting  the  position  of 
various  early  shrines  in  support  of  this  view,  he  men- 
tions also  "  the  fountain  now,  from  the  work  of  the 
Tyrants,  called  Enneacrunus  ["the  Nine  Spouts  "],  but 
formerly,  when  its  springs  were  in  the  open,  named 
Callirrhoe  ["the  Fair-flowing"].  This  spring,  being  near, 
they  made  use  of  for  the  most  important  purposes;  and 
it  is  still  customary,  from  old  habit,  to  use  the  water  for 
the  bath  before  marriage  and  for  other  sacred  purposes." 
This   statement  meets  with   striking  confirmation  from 

1  See  Nut'-  XV]  </.  -  Sex-  Note  IV a. 


SITUATION   AND   NATURAL    FEATURES  19 

early  Attic  vases,  on  which  maidens  are  seen  bringing 
water  from  a  fountain  that  gushes  from  spouts  fashioned 
as  lions'  mouths,  and  actually  labelled  Kakkippor)  Kprjv-q. 
Thucydides  also  shows  a  true  archaeological  judgment 
in  citing  this  custom  of  the  marriage  bath  as  evidence. 
We  know  from  other  writers  also  that  the  custom  was  in 
high  esteem  ;  the  water  was  brought  in  vases  of  a  special 
form  that  were  made  for  the  purpose ;  and  these  vases, 
or  their  representations  in  marble,  were  set  up  over  the 
tomb  of  those  that  died  unmarried  —  a  symbol  that  their 
bridal  was  with  Hades.  The  rite  of  the  marriage  bath 
of  Athens  is  analogous  to  a  similar  usage  that  we  meet 
in  many  other  places  —  the  performance  of  a  special  act 
of  devotion  by  a  youth  on  attaining  manhood,  and  by  a 
maiden  at  her  marriage,  to  the  river-god,  whose  special 
function  it  was  to  foster  the  children  of  the  state ;  one 
need  only  quote  the  lock  that  Achilles  kept  for  Sper- 
chius,  and  Orestes  for  Inachus,  and  the  bath  in  the  Sca- 
mander  that  was  taken  by  the  maidens  of  Ilium  before 
their  marriage.  Such  a  solemn  rite  must  clearly 
belong  to  the  stream  or  spring  regarded  as  the  chief 
source  of  the  life  and  fertility  of  the  region  ;  and  so  it  is 
evident  that  Callirrhoe  or  Enneacrunus  must  have 
enjoyed  such  special  honour  in  Athens.  The  epithet 
ya/x ocrro A.05,  applied  by  Nonnus  x  to  the  Ilissus,  at  once 
suggests  that  this  river  was  associated  with  Callirrhoe 
in  the  ritual.     Thucydides  makes  no  exact  statement  as 

1  Dion.  39.  190.     In  this  passage  there  is  an  immediate  reference  to  the  tale  of 
Boreas   and   Orithyia,  but  the   epithet   is  probably   a   traditional   one. 


20 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


to  the  position  of  the  spring,  which  has  been  disputed, 
mainly  from  the  difficulty  of  reconciling  the  description 
of  Enneacrunus  by  Pausanias  with  other  indications; 
but,  Pausanias  apart,1  there  is  overwhelming  evidence 
that  Callirrhoe  lay  in  the  bed  of  the  Ilissus.  Thus,  in 
the  Axiochus  2  of   Plato,  Socrates,  when  by  the   Ilissus, 


Callirrhoe,  and  Ridcf  of   Rock  in  tiik.  Red  of  the  Ii.issus. 

sees  Clinias  running  toward  Callirrhoe;  Herodotus  says 
that  when  the  maidens  of  Athens  went  to  fetch  water 
from  Enneacrunus,  the  Pelasgians,  who  lived  under  Hy- 
mettus  (i.e.  just  on  the  other  bank  of  the  Ilissus),  did 
violence   to   them ;    Tarantinus,8  a   writer   of    uncertain 


1  See  Note  Mil  a. 

2  If  the  Axiochus  is  not  by  Plato,  this  docs  not  matter  for  the  present  purpose; 
it  is  in  any  case  a  fourth-century  document.  3  Apud Hieroclem,  Hippiatr.,  prafc 


SITUATION   AND    NATURAL   FEATURES  21 

date,  speaks  of  the  Athenians  building  the  temple  of 
the  Olympian  Zeus  close  to  Enneacrunus,  and  the  Ety- 
mologicum  Magnum  states  that  the  fountain  Ennea- 
crunus, formerly  Callirrhoe,  was  beside  the  Ilissus.  In 
addition  to  all  this  direct  evidence  there  is  also  a  passage- 
in  the  comic  poet  Cratinus,  "  Lord  Apollo,  what  a  flow 
of  words ;  his  mouth  is  a  twelve-spout  fountain ;  Ilissus 
is  in  his  throat,"  which  doubtless  alludes  to  Ennea- 
crunus, and  connects  its  springs  with  the  Ilissus.  We 
learn  also  from  more  than  one  authority  that  the  spring 
Enneacrunus  was  noted  for  the  coolness  of  its  water. 
In  accordance  with  all  this  testimony,  it  is  practically 
certain  that  we  must  recognise  Callirrhoe  in  the  spring 
which  may  be  seen  trickling  from  the  ridge  of  rock  that 
crosses  the  Ilissus  just  below  the  Olympieum.  Spon  and 
Wheler  attest  that  this  spring  was  still  known  by  the 
name  of  Callirrhoe  at  the  time  of  their  visit  to  Athens  in 
1676;  its  flow  is  now  exceedingly  scanty,  but  in 
Wheler's  time  it  appears  to  have  been  more  abundant ; 
variations  in  the  position  and  supply  of  springs  are  of 
course  to  be  expected,  especially  in  a  district  that  is 
liable  to  earthquakes. 

There  would  be  no  dispute  as  to  the  position  of  En- 
neacrunus if  it  were  not  for  the  testimony  of  Pausanias, 
which  implies  that  the  spring  was  close  to  the  Agora, 
and  is  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  reconcile  with  its 
situation  near  the  Ilissus.  Under  these  circumstances 
there  are  only  two  alternatives :  to  accept  with  Loeschcke, 
Dbrpfeld,    and    others,    the    evidence    of    Pausanias    as 


22 


ANCIENT  ATHENS 


correct  and  to  reject  or  explain  away  all  the  other 
evidence  that  is  at  variance  with  it ;  or  to  accept,  with 
Leake  and  the  majority  of  other  topographers,  the  evi- 
dence that  has  been  given  above  as  conclusive,  and  to 
explain  the  testimony  of  Pausanias  as  an  error,  either 
on  his  part    or    on    that    of    his    interpreters.1       Either 


Interior  of  the  Cave  in  the  Asclepieum. 

Behind  the  curved  slabs  is  the  sacred  spring. 

course  is  open  to  very  grave  objections;  and  if  the  sec- 
ond is  here  adopted,  it  is  with  the  fullest  sense  of  its  diffi- 
cult)', a  difficulty  discussed  in  the  note  to  the  chapter  on 
Pausanias.  Nothing  would  justify  so  improbable  an 
assumption  but  the  necessity  of  a  still  more  improbable 
assumption  in  the  alternative  case;  and  the  opinion  of 
1  Mr.  Frazer's  summary  of  this  controversy  is  admirably  impartial  and  convincing. 


SITUATION   AND    NATURAL    FEATURES  23 

those  who  prefer  to  follow  Pausanias,  and  to  identify 
as  Enneacrunus  the  aqueduct  described  below,  must  be 
admitted  to  have  much   in   its  favour. 

Though  Callirrhoe  was  the  only  spring  that  gave  a 
copious  stream  of  good  water,  there  were  several  other 
springs  in  Athens.  Three  at  least  of  these  were  on 
the  Acropolis  or  its  immediate  neighbourhood;  all  of 
them  had  more  or  less  brackish  water,  and  consequently 
we  find  a  tradition  that  all  three  of  them  had  a  myste- 
rious connection  with  the  sea.  The  most  famous  was 
the  salt  spring  or  sea  (OdXacrcra),  below  the  Erechtheum, 
produced  by  Posidon  as  his  symbol  in  his  contest  with 
Athena  for  the  land  of  Attica.  Pausanias  relates  that 
when  there  was  a  wind,  the  waves  of  the  sea  at  Pha- 
lerum  could  be  clearly  heard  at  this  spring,  which  he- 
calls  a  well  ((f>peap).  The  second  was  the  spring  in  the 
Asclepieum,  which  was  of  ancient  sanctity,  and  was 
probably  recognised  as  possessing  medicinal  qualities ; 
the  third  is  the  Clepsydra,  which  lies  just  outside  the 
main  entrance  to  the  Acropolis,  on  the  north.  It  was 
reported  of  both  these  two  springs  that  articles  thrown 
into  them  reappeared  in  the  sea  at  Phalerum.  The 
Clepsydra  was  of  more  practical  use  than  the  others, 
and  was  included  within  the  outworks  of  the  Pelasgicon; 
it  was  once  more  included  within  the  defences  of  the 
Acropolis  by  the  bastion  built  by  Odysseus  Androut- 
sos  during  the  war  of  independence,  and  recently  de- 
molished. The  steps  that  led  down  to  it  may  still  be 
seen    below    the    north   wing    of    the    Propylcea.       The 


24 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


water  of  the  Clepsydra  -was  also  conducted,  in  Turkish 
times,1  outside  the  fortifications,  past  the  Tower  of  the 
Winds  to  the  Great  Mosque.  Its  water  is  still  held  in 
high  esteem  by  the  Athenians.  There  is  also  a  fountain 
shown  in  some  eighteenth-century  and  even  later  views 
of  Athens,2  which  has  led  to  some  misapprehensions  as 

to  the  existence  of 
a  spring  at  this 
spot ;  it  is  called 
by  Dodwell 3  "a 
spring  of  impota- 
ble water."  Close 
to  it  was  a  well 
called  'ApafiiKo 
n-rj-ydSi,  which  is 
shown  in  Dod- 
well's  plate.4  An- 
other f  ountai  n, 
that  of  Panops, 
is  mentioned  in 
Plato's  Lysis  as 
outside  a  city  gate 
on  the  way  from  the  Academy  to  the  Lyceum.  This 
is  probably  identical  with  the  spring  quoted  by  Strabo 
as  outside  the  Gate  of  Diochares,  near  the  old  source 
of  the  Eridanus ; 5  he  says  that  in  former  times  a 
fountain  was  built  close  to  this,  with  a  plentiful  supply 


Steps  leading  to  Clepsydra. 


1  Stuart,  II.  p.  v.;   i  I   also  Leake's  map.        :)  Greece,  I.  p.  361. 
/-. ■■.  Wordsworth,  Greece  (1X39;,  p.  94.      4  [bid.  opp.  p.  361. 


6  See  p.  17,  above. 


SITUATION    AND    NATURAL    FKATUkKS 


25 


of  good  water.  In  any  case  it  was  probably  too  far  out 
to  count  as  one  of  the  city  springs ;  and,  with  the  one 
exception  of  Callirrhoe,  these  probably  all  corresponded 
to  the  description  of  Vitruvius,  who  says  the  water 
from  them  had  an  iridescent  scum  on  its  surface,  and 
that  consequently 
they  were  not  used 
for  drinking,  but 
only  for  washing 
and  similar  pur- 
poses. 

When  the  natural 
supply  was  so  un- 
satisfactory, artifi- 
cial measures  were 
evidently  necessary 
as  soon  as  the 
town  began  to  in- 
crease in  size. 
These  could  be  of 
three  kinds  —  wells, 
cisterns,  and  aque- 
ducts; and  we  find  that  all  three  were  employed,  both 
separately  and  in  combination.  The  numerous  wells 
of  Athens  are  mentioned  by  several  ancient  writers ; 
and  a  considerable  number  have  been  found  in  excava- 
tions on  the  site  of  the  ancient  city,  especially  in  those 
of  Professor  Dorpfeld  between  the  Pnyx,  Areopagus, 
and    Acropolis.      On    the    top    of    the    Acropolis   large 


Door  of  Clepsydra. 


26  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

cisterns  were  constructed  for  the  storage  of  rain-water; 
one  especially,  to  the  north  of  the  Propylsea,  is  still  well 
preserved ;  it  is  built  of  squared  blocks  of  Piraic  lime- 
stone and  coated  with  stucco,  and  probably  belongs  to 
the  sixth  century  b.c  Professor  Dbrpfeld's  excavations 
have  discovered,  cut  in  the  rocks  of  the  Pnyx  hill, 
where  it  faces  the  Acropolis,  a  whole  series  of  wells, 
cisterns,  and  channels  intended  to  gather  together  all 
the  water  that  could  be  obtained.  But  neither  wells  nor 
storage  sufficed;  and  one  of  the  chief  results  of  Pro- 
fessor  Dbrpfeld's  excavations  near  the  Pnyx  has  been 
the  discovery  of  a  great  aqueduct  bringing  a  plentiful 
supply  of  water  from  high  up  the  valley  of  the  Ilissus. 
Some  traces  of  this  aqueduct  had  before  been  found 
beneath  the  Palace  Garden  and  the  Theatre  of  Dio- 
nysus. It  emerges  from  the  rock  near  the  place 
where  the  carriage  road  to  the  Acropolis  leaves  the 
modern  boulevard;  and  is  led  thence,  in  a  built  chan- 
nel, to  a  large  cistern  constructed  just  at  the  foot  of 
the  Pnyx  hill,  opposite  the  entrance  of  the  Acropolis. 
Some  tile  channels  for  the  water  have  been  found  and 
are  of  sixth-century  pottery ;  and  some  scanty  frag- 
ments of  a  fountain  built  for  the  outflow  of  the  water 
are  of  Kara  stone — a  material  indicating  the  same 
period.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  this  aqueduct, 
which  must  have  provided  the  chief  water  supply  of  all 
this  part  of  the  town,  was  built  by  Pisistratus ;  it  is 
exactly  analogous  to  the  aqueducts  made  by  his  friends 
and  fellow-tyrants,  Theagenes  of  Megara  and  Polycrates 


SITUATION    AND    NATURAL    FEATURES 


27 


of  Samos  ;  and  it  affords  an  excellent  example  of  the 
way  in  which  those  rulers  courted  popularity  by  provid- 
ing for  the  needs  of  the  citizens.  In  Roman  times  the 
great  cistern  was  filled  up,  and  the  water  was  conducted 
farther  along,  by  a  channel  that  can  still  be  seen  beside 
the  modern  road,  to 
a  point  opposite  the 
end  of  the  Areopa- 
gus. Professor  Dorp- 
feld,  whose  avowed 
object  before  mak- 
ing these  excavations 
was  to  find  the  site 
of  Enneacrunus,  nat- 
urally regards  this 
aqueduct  and  foun- 
tain as  the  work  of 
the  tyrants  referred 
to  by  Thucy  elides 
and  Pausanias.  The 
difficulty  in  the  way 
of  this  opinion  lies  in  the  passages  already  quoted,  which 
imply  that  Callirrhoe  was  in  the  bed  of  the  Ilissus. 
Professor  Dorpfeld  himself  has  to  assume  the  exist- 
ence of  two  fountains  named  Callirrhoe,  one  of  which, 
that  near  the  Pnyx,  was  afterward  called  Enneacrunus. 
Even  this  assumption  does  not,  however,  satisfy  all  the 
conditions  ;  the  question  is  an  extremely  difficult  one, 
and  we  shall    have    to  recur  to  it  in  considering    Pau- 


AnUEDUCT   BUILT   BY    PlSISTRAI 


28 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


sanias.  But,  in  the  passage  of  Thucydides  already 
quoted,  the  description  of  Callirrhoe  "  with  its  springs 
in  the  open  "  certainly  does  not  suit  the  system  of  wells, 
channels,  and  cisterns,  mostly  subterranean,  that  have 
been  already  described  as  existing  in  the  face  of  the 
Pnyx  hill ;  and  it  would  moreover  be  inaccurate  to  say 
that  this  spring  was  "  now,  from  the  work  of  the  tyrants, 
called  Enneacrunus."  What  the  tyrants  did  was  to 
supersede  the  spring  by  an  aqueduct — a  quite  different 
thing. 

Another   aqueduct,  bringing  water    along   the  south- 
ern slope  of  Lycabettus  from  near  Cephissia,  was  con- 


End  of  Roman  Aqueduct. 
From  Stuart's  Antiquities  of  Athens. 


structed  in  Roman  times;  it  ended  in  a  cistern  on 
the  south-west  extremity  of  Lycabettus.  Both  aque- 
duct and  cistern  are  in  the  same  positions  as  the 
modern    water    supply    of    Athens.       In    Stuart's    time 


SITUATION    AND    NATURAL   FEATURES  29 

the  columns  and  architrave  of  a  front  to  the  cistern 
house  were  still  standing,  and  their  memory  is  pre- 
served in  the  name  of  this  region  of  the  modern  town, 
to  KoXojvaKL.  On  the  architrave  was  an  inscription, 
stating  that  the  aqueduct  was  begun  by  Hadrian  and 
completed  by  Antoninus  Pius. 

/  b.     Building  Materials  used  in  Ancient  Athens 

The  materials  used  for  building  in  ancient  Athens 
were  stone  and  marble,  wood,  and  unbaked  brick.  As 
the  two  latter  have  in  almost  every  case  disappeared, 
the  former  alone  concern  us  in  a  study  of  the  extant 
remains.  Baked  brick  was,  of  course,  used  also  in 
Roman  times ;  but  there  are  no  very  considerable  or 
characteristic  buildings  of  this  material  left  in  Athens, 
and  those  who  wish  to  study  its  use  can  find  what  they 
require  in  the  preface  to  Middleton's  Rome.  The 
chief  kinds  of  stone  used  in  Athens  were  the  fol- 
lowing :  — 

(1)  The  Acropolis  rock,  a  hard,  bluish  gray  lime- 
stone, which  forms  the  upper  part,  not  only  of  the 
Acropolis,  but  also  of  Lycabettus  and  most  of  the 
other  hills  of  Athens.  It  was  the  most  accessible  for 
all  purposes,  and  we  find  that  it  was  used  for  most  of 
the  earliest  buildings,  such  as  the  Pelasgic  wall  and 
the  early  temple  of  Athena.  This  rock  is  still  quar- 
ried on  Lycabettus  and  elsewhere,  and  most  of  the 
houses  of  modern   Athens  are   built  of   it.     It   is  gen- 


30  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

erally,  in  ancient  as  in  modern  times,  used  in  rough, 
irregular  blocks,  for  it  is  not  at  all  easy  to  square 
and  smooth. 

(2)  A  soft  sandstone  which  forms  the  lower  stratum 
of  the  hills  of  Athens.  It  is  a  poor  material,  and  was 
only  used  in  early  times  for  inferior  work,  often  mixed 
with  Acropolis  rock;  for  instance,  in  the  earliest 
orchestra  circle  of  the   Dionysiac  Theatre. 

(3)  Piraic  limestone,  the  material  described  in  offi- 
cial documents  as  d/crir^?  \l6os,  from  Akte,  the  farther 
portion  of  the  Piraic  promontory ;  it  is  still  exten- 
sively quarried.  It  was  used  in  immense  quantities  in 
ancient  times,  e.g.  for  the  foundations  of  ali  the  chief 
buildings  of  the  fifth  century,  including  the  Parthenon 
and  the  Propylosa,  for  the  Cimonian  wall  of  the 
Acropolis,  the  Dionysiac  Theatre,  and  the  Odeum  of 
Herodes  Atticus.  It  was  also  used  for  the  archi- 
tectural sculpture  adorning  all  the  early  temples  on 
the  Acropolis.  This  is  the  material  commonly  known, 
especially  in  German  works,  as  "poros";  the  word  is 
perhaps  better  avoided,  as  it  has  come  to  be  used 
very  vaguely,  and  the  statements  of  Pliny  and  Theo- 
phrastus  as  to  poros  [iropo^  ?)  are  misleading,  for  they 
describe  it  as  a  kind  of  marble;  on  the  other  hand, 
the  7rw/HF09  XiOos,  mentioned  both  by  ancient  writers 
and  in  inscriptions,  is  certainly  like  this  Piraic  stone. 
It  is  also  described  by  modern  writers  as  tufa,  cal- 
careous tufa,  or  travertine  —  the  later  a  local  Roman 
name. 


SITUATION    AND    NATURAL    FEATURES  31 

(4)  Kara  limestone,  so  called  from  a  village  at  the 
foot  of  Hymettus,  where  it  was  quarried.  This  mate- 
rial, so  far  as  is  known,  was  used  only  in  the  sixth 
century,  and  so  often  affords  valuable  evidence  as  to 
date.  It  is  harder  and  lighter  in  colour  than  the 
Piraic  stone,  and  often  has  a  pinkish  tinge ;  another 
peculiarity  is  the  presence  of  cylindrical  holes,  due  to 
marine  shells.  This  may  be  seen  in  the  foundation  of 
the  peristyle  of  the  early  temple  of  Athena,  in  the 
early  temple  of  Dionysus  by  the  Theatre,  and  else- 
where.     It  is  usually  called  travertine  by   Middleton. 

(5)  Conglomerate  (pudding  stone)  or  breccia,  made  up 
of  water-worn  pebbles  cemented  together  by  a  calcareous 
deposit.  This  is  found  on  several  of  the  hills  near 
Athens.  It  was  freely  used  for  foundations  and  con- 
cealed portions  of  buildings  of  the  fourth  century  and 
later,  but  not  much  before  this  time.  The  earliest  dated 
example  is  the  foundation  of  the  later  temple  of  Dionysus 
by  the  Theatre,  which  contained  the  colossal  statue  by 
Alcamenes,  probably  dedicated  about  420  B.C.  It  is  also 
used  for  the  inner  part  of  the  great  retaining  walls  of  the 
Theatre,  which,  though  not  completed  till  the  time  of 
Lycurgus  (about  330  B.C.),  may  have  been  begun  a 
good  deal  earlier,  perhaps  in  the  fifth  century. 

All  these  varieties  of  rough  stone,  where  they  showed, 
were  usually  coated  with  stucco. 

The  different  kinds  of  marble  used  in  Athenian  build- 
ings are  almost  exclusively  white  or  bluish.  Coloured 
marbles,  such  as  are  commonly  used  in  Rome,  are  prac- 


32 


ANCIENT  ATHENS 


tically  unknown  in  Greece  until  Roman  times,  and 
although  a  few  fragments  of  them  may  be  seen  lying 
about,  they  formed  no  part  of  any  of  the  chief  buildings 
now  extant.  These  also  may  be  found,  by  those  who 
wish  to  study  them,  in  the  Introduction  to  Middleton's 
Rome.  The  chief  marbles  used  in  Athenian  buildings 
are  the  following :  — 

(i)    Island  marble  from   Paros  and  Naxos.     This  was 
used  almost  exclusively  in  early  times  before  the  quarries 


Naxian  Quarry,  with  unfinished  Colossus. 

of  Pentelicus  were  worked.  It  is  a  white  marble  of  high 
transparency,  formed  of  coarse  crystals  varying  in  size; 
the  finest  quality  comes  from  Paros,  and  was  always, 
in  later  as  in  earlier  times,  regarded  as  the  best  marble 
for  sculpture.  The  Naxian  is  of  coarser  grain  and  infe- 
rior texture;  but  there  are  also  quarries  of  coarser 
marble  in  Paros,  and  of  finer  in  Naxos,  so  that  it  is 
not  always  easy  to  distinguish  the  two.  Both  were 
used     in     early    times     for     sculpture     as     well     as     for 


SITUATION    AND    NATURAL    FEATURES  33 

architecture  ;  even  in  buildings  mostly  constructed  of 
limestone,  the  cornices  and  roof  tiles  were  often  of 
marble ;  it  was  especially  suitable,  from  its  semitrans- 
parency,  for  the  roof  of  a  building  without  windows. 
Both  materials  may  most  easily  be  seen  in  the  female 
statues  on  the  Acropolis  Museum ;  most  are  Parian, 
but  some  Naxian  —  the  one,  for  example,  who  holds  a 
fruit  to  her  breast.  The  great  majority  of  the  marble 
fragments  of  early  date  lying  about  on  the  Acropolis 
are  of  island  marble.  The  Parian  quarries  have  been 
worked  in   modern  times,    but    are  now  deserted. 

(2)  Hymettus  marble,  which  was  quarried  earlier  than 
Pentelic,  varies  in  colour  from  white  to  blue ;  that  most 
used  in  ancient  times  was  white  with  blue  veins.  It  is 
harder  and  less  transparent  than  Pentelic,  but  of  finer 
grain  than  Parian.  A  good  early  example  of  its  use  is 
the  statue  of  a  man  bearing  a  calf  in  the  Acropolis 
Museum.  In  the  fifth  century  it  was  not  much  used, 
but  in  the  fourth  century  and  later  its  variety  of  col- 
our was  appreciated,  and  it  was  used  especially  for 
dados  in  stoae,  as  in  the  stoa  behind  the  stage  of  the 
Theatre,  and  often  in  later  times  it  was  used  for  pave- 
ments in  alternation  with  the  white  Pentelic.  It  is 
still  quarried,  and  is  extensively  used  in  modern  Athens. 

(3)  Pentelic  marble,  which,  next  to  Parian,  is  the 
best  white  marble  known.  It  is  of  smaller  and  finer 
crystals  than  Parian,  and  cuts  easily  owing  to  its  even 
texture,  which  almost  resembles  that  of  lump  sugar ;  it 
is  fairly  transparent,  though  less  so  than    Parian  ;  and 


34 


ANCIENT  ATHENS 


it  contains  a  certain  amount  of  iron,  to  which  is  due 
the  beautiful  golden  tin^e  which  it  takes  from  weather- 
inor.  Tne  fact  that  Mount  Pentelicus  or  Brilessus  was 
made  almost  entirely  of  this  marble  appears  not  to  have 


^P^  1   * 

» 

■  *~  ■■<*    ~    '■ 

HPiirtJSSHI 

Ancieni  Quarry  on  Pentelicus. 

been  discovered  until  the  fifth  century,  and  it  is  only 
after  the  Persian  wars  that  Pentelic  marble  becomes 
the  usual  material  for  all  the  chief  buildings;  the  Par- 
thenon, the  Erechtheum,  the  Propylaea,  and  most  of  the 
other  monuments  of  Athenian  architecture  are  made  of 


SITUATION    AND    NATURAL    FEATURES  35 

it.  The  best  specimens  of  this  marble  are  pure  white, 
though  blue  veins  are  visible  even  in  some  of  t he- 
blocks  of  the   Parthenon. 

The  quarries  are  still  worked,  and  the  chief  buildings 
of  modern  Athens  also  are  of  Pentelic  marble,  but  a 
perfectly  white  block  is  now  hard  to  find  ;  almost  all 
have  blue  veins  in  them,  and  some  are  as  blue  as 
Hymettian.  It  is  said  that  Herodes  Atticus  used 
up  all  that  was  left  of  the  finest  quality  in  seating 
the  Panathenaic  stadium.  The  modern  quarries  may 
be  seen  as  a  white  scar  on  the  slope  of  Pentelicus,  to  the 
left  of  the  summit  as  viewed  from  Athens.  The  ancient 
quarries  are  to  the  right.  A  new  quarry,  which  has 
recently  been  opened,  is  said  to  have  an  abundance  of 
pure  white  marble. 

These  are  the  chief  white  marbles  used  in  Athens ; 
isolated  fragments  of  other  kinds  may  be  found,  but 
there  was  no  need  to  import  from  abroad,  with  so  excel- 
lent and  abundant  a  supply  close  at  hand.  To  these 
may  be  added 

(4)  Black  Eleusinian  stone,  which,  though  not  of 
crystalline  texture  and  so  not,  properly  speaking,  marble, 
was  used  in  conjunction  with  marble  in  the  finest 
Athenian  buildings.  It  is  similar  in  texture  to  the 
Acropolis  rock,  but  is  black  instead  of  blue  in  colour. 
It  is  used  most  effectively  for  a  dado  and  for  other 
decorative  lines  in  the  Propylaea,  and  also  as  the  back- 
ground to  which  marble  figures  in  low  relief  were 
attached,  in  the  frieze  of  the   Erechtheum. 


CHAPTER    II 

THE    WALLS   OF  THE  ACROPOLIS  AND    THE   TOWN 

We  can  distinguish  three  main  periods  in  the  history 
of  ancient  Athens  as  a  walled  city:  first,  there  is  the  time 
when  the  Acropolis  was  the  city,  and  there  were  no  forti- 
fications except  on  the  hill  or  its  immediate  outworks ; 
then  comes  the  brief  but  most  interesting  period  when 
the  town  was  provided  with  a  wall  and  the  Acropolis 
probably  dismantled  as  a  fortress,  but  when  Athens  still 
remained  isolated  in  the  midst  of  the  Attic  plain ;  and 
after  that  the  bold  and  magnificent  design  that  con- 
nected the  town  with  its  seaports  by  the  Long  Walls, 
and  so  produced  a  city  impregnable  and  unassailable  so 
long  as  she  remained  mistress  of  the  sea.  Considerable 
remains  are  left  of  these  various  fortifications ;  and, 
partly  by  their  help,  partly  by  a  study  of  the  natural 
features  and  their  adaptability  to  defence  or  attack,  it  is 
possible  still  to  form  a  fair  notion  of  the  boundaries  of 
the  town   they  enclosed. 

We  must  not  form  our  conception  of  the  rocky  plateau 
of  the  Acropolis  itself  from  the  clearly  outlined  and 
symmetrical  shape  that  is  familiar  to  us  from  maps  and 
plans,  or  even  from  our  knowledge  of  Athens  as  it  now 

36 


WALLS   OF   THE   ACROPOLIS   AND   THE   TOWN         39 

is.  The  history  of  those  straight  and  massive  walls  does 
not  yet  concern  us,  except  in  so  far  as  it  makes  us  realise 
that  they  are  artificial  in  plan,  and  do  not  follow  the  natu- 
ral contours  of  the  hill.  The  rock  is,  however,  naturally 
precipitous  on  all  sides  except  the  west.  The  south  side 
must  always  have  been  practically  inaccessible  ;  but  there 
are  some  difficult  approaches  on  the  north  that  were  in 
part  utilised  for  posterns.  At  either  side,  east  and  west, 
there  was  a  shallow  depression  in  the  middle,  facilitating 
a  possible  access.  The  eldest  works  of  fortification  are 
still  standing  in  some  places.  The  story  goes  that  the 
early  Athenians  employed  the  Pelasgians  to  fortify  the 
Acropolis  for  them  with  those  gigantic  walls,  of  which 
some  remains  are  still  to  be  seen.  In  size  and  character 
these  walls  are  similar  to  the  fortifications  of  Tiryns  and 
of  Mycenae.  In  the  case  of  both  these  towns  also  the 
building  of  the  walls  is  attributed  to  a  foreign  people  ; 
the  foreigners,  however,  are  not  the  Pelasgians,  but  the 
Cyclopes,  a  race  of  mythical  giants  from  Lycia.  The 
divergence  of  tradition  is  a  curious  one  ;  for  the  primi- 
tive walls  of  all  three  cities  are  associated  with  fragments 
of  pottery  and  other  remains  which  all  testify  to  a  simi- 
lar civilisation  and  handicraft.  Under  these  circum- 
stances the  attribution  of  the  building  of  the  walls  to  a 
foreign  people  in  each  case,  but  to  different  foreigners, 
seems  to  imply  nothing  more  than  that  the  matter  was 
a  mystery  to  the  later  inhabitants,  and  is  of  no  more  his- 
torical value  than  the  attribution  of  somewhat  similar 
megalithic   monuments   to   giants  or  to   the   devil   with 


40 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


which  we  are  familiar  in  northern  Europe.  Of  course 
the  whole  question  of  the  Pelasgians  in  early  Greece 
cannot  be  dismissed  so  lightly ;  but  the  tradition  of  their 
building  the  walls  of  the  Acropolis  is  precisely  analogous 
to  the  similar  tradition  about  the  Cyclopes  from  Lycia  at 
Mycenae  and  Tiryns ;  and  that  tradition  has  not  as  yet 


Wall  ami  Tower  AT  TlRYNS. 

received  any  confirmation  from  arch^ological  evidence, 
though  it  would  be  rash,  in  view  of  the  unexpected  and 
startling  discoveries  of  recent  years,  to  deny  that  such 
evidence  may  possibly  be  discovered  by  future  investiga- 
tion. We  shall  come  across  the  Pelasgians  again  at 
Athens,  and  especially  ill  relation  to  the  Pelasgicon,  or 
Pelargicon,  which  was  probably  a  kind  of  outwork  at 


WALLS   OF   THE   ACROPOLIS   AND   THE    TOWN 


4i 


Wall  at  Myckn.e. 


the  west  end  of  the  Acropolis.  But,  in  relation  to  the 
great  fortification  wall  that  crowned  the  craggy  summit 
of  the  Acropolis,  this  name  gives  us  little  help. 

The  fortification,  as  has  been  said,  follows  the  natural 
contours  of  the  rock  much  more  closely  than  the  later 
wall ;  and  its  chief  purpose  was  evidently  defence.  Its 
course  may  be  followed  on  the  plan ;  it  survives  on  the 
south,  east,  and  west  sides  in  fragments  that  suffice  to 
indicate  its  whole  run.  On  the  north  side  its  position  is 
more  conjectural,  chiefly  because  the  later  wall  in  this 
part  follows  the  natural  contours  more  closely,  and  there- 
fore conceals  its  predecessors.  The  shallow  depression  in 
the  rock  at  the  east  end  is  cut  off  by  a  massive  wall 


42  ANCIENT  ATHENS 

built  right  across  it,  of  which  the  lower  courses  still  sur- 
vive. Indeed,  the  early  fortress  must  practically  have  pre- 
sented the  appearance  of  a  large  tower  at  each  corner. 
The  main  entrance,  as  in  later  times,  was  at  the  west 
end,  and  was  flanked,  as  is  usual  in  early  Greek  fortresses, 
by  a  projecting  bastion  on  its  left,  to  which  the  right  or 
shieldless  side  of  an  attacking  enemy  must  be  exposed. 
In  addition  to  the  main  entrance,  there  was  a  postern 
approached  by  a  long  internal  staircase,  toward  the 
eastern  portion  of  the  north  side,  in  a  position  analogous 
to  the  posterns  of  Mycenae  and  Tiryns.  There  is  also 
another  very  curious  means  of  access,  concealed  in  a 
natural  cave,  which  is  of  great  interest  in  later  times ; 
but  there  is  nothing  to  show  whether  it  was  taken  into 
account  in  the  earliest  fortifications. 

At  the  west  end,  in  front  of  the  main  entrance,  was  a 
kind  of  terraced  outwork  called  the  Pelasgicon,  or  Pelar- 
gicon ;  it  was  also  known  as  the  Enneapylon,  or  en- 
closure of  the  Nine  Gates.  How  these  gates  were 
placed  there  is  no  definite  evidence ;  but  the  most  prob- 
able conjecture  is  that  they  were  set  one  within  another 
in  a  series  of  bastions  or  terraces;  a  strong  confirmation 
of  this  view  is  to  be  found  in  the  Frankish  and  Turkish 
fortifications  of  this  same  slope,  which  have  now  been 
entirely  demolished.  These  fortifications  certainly  did 
not  follow  the  lines  of  the  primitive  ones,  of  which  all 
trace  had  disappeared  and  all  tradition  was  lost;  but 
they  were  dictated  by  similar  conditions;  and  old  plans 
of   the   Acropolis  show  that    in    Turkish    times    the   ap- 


WALLS   OF   THE   ACROPOLIS   AND   illH    TOWN 


43 


proach  led  gradually  up  to  gate  within  gate,  just  as  it 
must  have  done  in  the  old  Pelasgic  outwork.  Why 
it  was  called  the  Pelasgicon  or  Pelargicon  is  a  very 
obscure  question. 
The  name  may 
be  due  to  the 
same  tradition 
that  attributed 
the  walls  of  the 
Acropolis  to  the 
Pelasgians.  But 
the  other  form, 
Pelargicon, 
which  is  perhaps 
the  better  at- 
tested of  the  two, 
is  hard  to  ex- 
plain. Possibly 
Aristophanes,  in 
his  jesting  con- 
nection of  the 
word  with  nekap- 
yo<?,  a  stork,  came 
nearer  to  the 
truth  than  he 
imagined.  The 
place  is  not,  indeed,  in  itself  a  likely  one  for  storks  to 
frequent ;  certainly  none  are  to  be  seen  there  now. 
But  several  tribes  of  early  Athens  took  their  name  from 


i 

I 

i*^8                Bgj 

»-i 

/    /r' Si  i VjB                 9k 

W>k  vM    i 

-r 

.TiiTl  7"  -  ,. .  -I*   \    i   1         Mr 

1 

•*- -4              i       \      /^H 

,Wv4^t^    ■ 

1 1  <  Ufesf 

1         lr\           B^L 

|  ;]'LrfT^ 

io  - 

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Wit         '  ." 

o 

a. 

o 

< 

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/  "  n  *  >  ^v^j^feJB 

h 

O  - 

i,. 

f         \V  *  j/h   '  { i  ^^^M 

0 

t !         5T3s3 1 '             -^B 

Li 

K'^¥^\r\'im 

vU 

l/j 

mwmM 

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d  - 

■■J 

r 

«!  - 

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I  •  f      -1    JK    '^  ' ' ' '    'i*   i^W^^B 

¥- 

/             S  Jv?>k>-^  _jr»-a     J^ ^„^H 

< 

j:->,  ^^^rr« 

+  - 

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i  ^H| 

44  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

birds  or  beasts  —  one  need  only  remember  the  AlyrjU 
and  A.eovTt<s  —  and  such  a  tribe  may  have  lived  in  this 
region.  It  is  even  possible  that  this  may  be  the  origin 
of  the  story  about  the  Pelasgic  walls ;  but  it  must  be 
admitted  that  the  whole  question  is  one  of  the  greatest 
doubt  and  obscurity,  and  that  any  such  conjectures  as 
this  are  not  to  be  admitted  in  serious  argument.  The 
outwork  probably  extended  originally  some  little  way 
along  the  north  side,  and  rather  farther  along  the  south 
side,  as  well  as  at  the  west  end ;  for  a  similar  extent 
must  be  assigned  to  the  sacred  precinct  that  in  later 
times  occupied  its  place  and  inherited  its  name. 

We  do  not  know  how  long  the  walls  of  the  Acropolis 
remained  the  only  fortification  of  Athens ;  but  as  the 
city  grew,  and  the  centre  of  civic  life  was  transferred 
from  the  palace  of  the  king  to  the  agora  in  the  town, 
it  must  have  been  desirable  to  protect  the  houses  of 
the  body  of  the  citizens,  and  not  merely  to  provide  them 
with  a  refuge  to  which  they  could  escape  in  case  of 
attack.  Such  a  change  must  in  all  probability  have 
taken  place  at  least  as  early  as  the  reforms  of  Solon; 
one  would  naturally  expect  it  to  be  contemporaneous 
with  the  abolition  of  the  kings.  The  Acropolis  still 
remained  as  a  citadel,'  and  its  occupation  was  naturally 
the  first  step  taken  by  any  one  aiming  at  tyranny;  the 
ill-fated  attempt  of  Cylon  and  the  successful  stroke  of 
Pisistratus  both  serve  as  examples.  The  first  positive 
evidence  which  we  have  as  to  the  existence  of  a  town 
wall  is  the  narrative  given  by  Thucydides1  of  the  assassi- 

1  VI.  57- 


WALLS   OF  THE   ACROPOLIS   AND   THE    TOWN          45 

nation  of  Hipparchus  by    Harmodius  and   Aristogiton  ; 

and  he  evidently  had  taken  a  good  deal  of  trouble  to 
ascertain  all  the  details  of  this  event  correctly,  since 
he  observes  that  the  current  versions  were  far  removed 
from  truth.  He  says  that  on  the  day  of  the  Panathe- 
naic  procession  Hippias  was  superintending  the  arrange- 
ments "outside  in  the  Ceramicus";  and  that  Harmodius 
and  Aristogiton,  seeing  one  of  their  confederates 
speaking  to  him,  and  believing  their  plot  to  be  betrayed, 
"rushed  at  once  within  the  gate,  and  fell  on  Hipparchus 
beside  the  Leocorion."  The  proximity  of  the  Leoco- 
rion  shows  that  the  gate  in  question  must  have  been 
the  one  corresponding  to  the  later  Dipylon  ;  and  the 
narrative  implies  not  only  that  there  was  already  a  town 
wall  for  the  gate  to  be  in,  but  also  that  its  line  cannot, 
at  this  point,  have  been  very  different  from  that  of  the 
later  circuit. 

When  Hippias  was  driven  out  of  Athens  by  the 
Alcmasonidae  with  the  help  of  the  Lacedaemonians, 
the  Spartan  king  occupied  the  Acropolis  until  he 
was  expelled  by  Clisthenes.  It  was  doubtless  on  this 
occasion  that  the  Acropolis  was  dismantled  as  a  for- 
tress ;  for  its  danger  to  the  security  of  the  citizens, 
whether  from  a  domestic  tyrant  or  a  foreign  foe,  had 
been  amply  demonstrated  by  recent  events ;  and  when 
the  Persians  invaded  Attica,  twenty  years  later,  it  is 
evident  that  the  Acropolis  was  not  in  a  defensible 
state  without  the  erection  of  temporary  barricades. 

That    the    lower    town    was  surrounded  by  a  wall  at 


46 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


,m?jtm 


& 


the  time  of  the  Persian  wars  is  sufficiently  proved  by 
its  description  in  the  Delphic  response  as  r/oo^oeiS-^?, 
wheel-shaped.  Such  a  description  could  never  have 
applied  to  the  Acropolis,  nor  would  it  suit  an  un walled 
town.     It  may  perhaps  be  objected  that  it  is  difficult  to 

see  why,  in  that 
case,  the  Atheni- 
ans never  thought 
of  defending 
their  city ;  but  the 
danger  of  such  a 
course  was  mani- 
fest. Without  the 
Long  Walls, 
Athens  was  un- 
tenable against  a 
prolonged  and 
systematic  invest- 
ment, such  as  the 
vast  hordes  of 
the  Persians  could 
easily  maintain. 
Supplies  would  be  entirely  cut  off,  and  there  would 
have  been  no  hope  of  relief  unless  the  Persian  army 
was  defeated — an  event  of  which  there  was  not  the 
slightest  hope,  without  the  Athenians  themselves  to 
join  in  attacking  it.  It  is  little  wonder  therefore  that, 
when  the  Delphic  oracle  bade  the  Athenians  trust  to 
a  wooden    wall,  the   majority  of  the  citizens  transported 


tm 


M 


Roi  ks,  Cleft,  ami  Steps  cut  in  Rock,  on  North- 
west of  Acropolis. 


WALLS  OF  THE   ACROPOLIS  AND   THE   TOWN         47 

their  wives  and  children  across  the  sea,  and  them- 
selves manned  the  ships  that  were  to  save  Greece  in 
the  battle  of  Salamis ;  a  few,  mostly  old  men,  inter- 
preted the  response  more  literally,  and  remained  on 
the  Acropolis,  barricading  the  entrance  with  a  wooden 
wall.  This  passage  proves  that  without  such  a  barri- 
cade the  Acropolis  was  indefensible.  The  defenders 
held  their  own  against  assaults  until  the  Persians 
found  their  way  up  by  a  precipitous  and  unguarded 
approach  through  the  precinct  of  Agraulos.1  It  has 
generally  been  supposed  that  the  escalading  party 
either  climbed  up  in  the  open,  where  they  could 
hardly  have  escaped  notice,  or  else  ascended  by  the 
direct  but  narrow  staircase  that  may  still  be  seen 
above  the  grotto  of  Agraulos ;  but  so  obvious  a  way, 
if  not  strongly  barricaded,  could  hardly  have  been  left 
unguarded.  Recent  excavations  have  shown  a  much 
more  likely  route.  A  natural  cleft  in  the  rock  runs 
under  or  within  the  northern  wall  of  the  Acropolis ; 
its  western  entrance  is  in  the  projecting  face  of  rock 
just  to  the  west  of  the  cave  of  Agraulos;  it  has  also 
an  outlet  at  the  eastern  end,  nearly  opposite  the  west 
end  of  the  Erechtheum.  Where  this  cleft  is  within 
the  wall  of  the    Acropolis,    it    has   an    opening    at    the 

1  Herodotus'  description  of  this  way  up  as  in  front  of  the  Acropolis  but  behind 
the  gates  has  caused  some  confusion.  Leake,  for  example  (  Top.  Ath.  p.  128),  thinks 
it  implies  that  Herodotus  regarded  the  north  side  as  the  front,  and  quotes  modern 
instances  of  the  same  view,  while  others  thought  front  must  mean  east,  to  which  the 
temples  face.  The  entrance  to  the  subterranean  passage  faces  west,  the  same  direc- 
tion as  the  main  entrance,  and  is  about  seventy  yards  to  the  rear  of  it  ;  thus  Herodo- 
tus' description  is  both  accurate  and  obvious. 


4« 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


top  which  gives  access  to  the  plateau  above  it ;  but 
there  is  a  sheer  drop  of  about  twenty  feet,  which  might 
well  lead  the  defenders  to  regard  it  as  needing  no  guard ; 
and  an  attacking  party,  once  within  the  cleft,  could 
ascend  at  their  leisure  with  scaling  ladders  or  ropes. 
A  mediaeval  staircase  goes  part  of  the  way  clown,  but 
now  ends  abruptly,  and  must  be  descended  with  caution; 
it   is   easy  to  pass  right  through  the  cleft  from   below. 


\/i 


y. 


k£r 


Acropolis  from  Areopagus,  showing  Caves  and  Long  Rocks. 

The  defenders  of  the  wooden  wall,  thus  taken  in  the 
rear,  could  make  no  further  defence,  and  the  Persians 
set  about  a  systematic  destruction  of  the  temples,  houses, 
and  walls  of  Athens.  We  have  no  exact  record  of  the 
extent  or  the  manner  in  which  they  dismantled  the  forti- 
fications of  cither  town  or  Acropolis;  but  something  can 
be  inferred  from  what  Thucydides  tells  us  of  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  Athenians  as  soon  as  they  returned  to  the 
ruins  of  their  city.  His  statements  refer  mainly,  if 
not   exclusively,  to   the    walls  of  the  town,  and   this  fact 


WALLS   OF   THE   ACROPOLIS   AND   THE   TOWN         49 

alone  is  significant;  in  a  democratic  state  the  town 
walls  were  essential  for  defence,  the  existence  of  a  forti- 
fied citadel  was  unimportant  and  even  undesirable.  In 
one  passage1  we  read  that  "only  a  small  portion  of  the 
circuit  was  still  standing";  in  another'-'  we  have  a  most 
interesting  account  of  the  rebuilding:  "  In  this  way  the 
Athenians  built  the  wall  of  their  town  within  a  short 
time;  and  the  building  still  shows  clear  evidence  of  the 
haste  with  which  it  was  carried  out ;  its  foundations  are 
of  all  kinds  of  stones,  in  many  places  not  worked  to  fit, 
but  just  as  the  various  workmen  brought  them  ;  and 
many  tombstones  and  wrought  blocks  from  earlier 
buildings  were  pressed  into  the  service.  For  the  cir- 
cuit was  enlarged  on  every  side  of  the  city,  and  for 
this  reason  they  hurried  the  work  without  respecting 
any  restrictions."  Some  portions  of  the  wall  thus 
built  still  remain,  especially  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  Dipylon,  where  fragments  of  early  tombstones 
have  actually  been  found  built  into  the  wall,  as  Thu- 
cydides  describes  them;  but,  side  by  side  with  this 
striking  confirmation  of  his  words,  we  also  have  a  slight 
difficulty  to  explain.  His  statement  leaves  no  room  for 
doubt  as  to  the  existence  of  the  earlier  circuit  of  town 
wall,  which  we  have  already  seen  to  be  both  probable  in 
itself  and  implied  by  clear  though  scanty  evidence.  But 
that  evidence  shows  that,  at  least  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  Dipylon  Gate,  the  earlier  and  the  later  circuit 
must  have  nearly   coincided ;    and   along   the   ridges   of 

1  I-  S9.  3-  2  I-  93- 


5° 


ANCIENT    ATHENS 


the  hills  to  the  west  of  the  Acropolis  the  natural 
conformation  of  the  ground  allows  but  little  varia- 
tion in  the  line  of  a  defensive  wall.  We  need  not, 
however,    press    too    literally    the    force    of    the    expres- 


Wai.l  South  of  Dipylon  Gate. 

The  lower  part  built  by  Themistocles,  the  upper  part  a  later  repair.     In  front,  on 

the  right,  is  the  outer  (and  later)  wall. 

sion  navTaxf},  on  every  side  ;  the  general  sense  of  the 
passage  could  accord  very  fairly  with  the  facts  if  we 
suppose  that  the  later  circuit  exceeded  the  earlier  limits 
in  the  comparatively  level  ground  to  the  north  and  to 
the  east  of  the  Acropolis,  where  there  was  more  scope 
for  a  growing  city,  and  where  the  modern  town  has  now 
exceeded  the  limits  of  the  ancient. 

The  leading  spirit  in  the  restoration  of  Athens  was 
Themistocles;  and  his  aims  were  not  restricted  to  the 
rebuilding  or  enlarging  of  the  walls  of  the  town.  He 
seems  to  have  been  the  first  great  politician  to  have 
grasped    the   principle,   so   ably   expounded    by    Captain 


WALLS   OF   THE   ACROPOLIS   AND   THE   TOWN         51 

Mahan,  that  the  control  of  the  sea  is  the  true  foundation 
of  empire,  and  to  have  applied  it  to  the  conditions  of 
the  time  and  place.  Before  his  days  the  Athenians  de- 
pended on  Phalerum  as  their  port ; '  he  appears  to  have 
been  the  first  to  recognise  and  to  turn  to  account  the 
great  natural  advantages  of  the  Piraeus.  Thucydides2 
again  gives  us  the  clearest  account,  and  his  statement 
is  confirmed  by  other  authorities :  "  Themistocles  per- 
suaded them  also  to  build  the  rest  of  the  Piraeus  —  a 
portion  of  it  already  existed,  built  during  his  tenure  of 
the  archonship  at  Athens  —  because  he  thought  that 
the  position  was  a  good  one,  having  three  natural  har- 
bours, and  that  their  taking  to  the  sea  was  a  great 
advantage  for  the  acquisition  of  power.  For  he  was 
the  first  to  advocate  the  bold  course  of  obtaining-  con- 

O 

trol  of  the  sea,  and  immediately  took  measures  for 
organising  empire.  And  by  his  advice  they  built  the 
wall  round  the  Piraeus  of  the  thickness  that  may  still  be 
seen,  broad  enough  for  two  chariots  to  pass ; 3  and  there 
was  no  rubble  or  clay  within  the  wall,  but  it  was  built 
throughout  of  large  squared  blocks,  clamped  together 
with  iron  and  lead  ;  but  it  was  only  carried  out  to  half 
the  height  of  his  original  design.  For  he  intended,  by 
the  height  and  thickness  of  the  wall,  to  thwart  the 
enemies'  designs,  and  he  thought  a  few  of  the  least 
efficient  soldiers  would  suffice  to  guard  it,  while  the 
rest  would  embark  upon  the  ships.     For  he  concentrated 

1  Hdt.  vi.  116.  &c.  ;    Paus.  I.  I,  2.  2  I.  93.  2. 

3  However  we  restore  the  lacuna  in  the  text,  this  must  be  the  meaning. 


52 


ANCIENT    ATHENS 


his  energies  on  the  navy,  having  observed,  I  suppose, 
that  the  invasion  of  the  Persian  army  was  far  easier  in 
transport  by  sea  than  by  land.  And  he  considered  the 
Piraeus  more  advantageous  in  position  than  the  inland 
city ;  and  often  advised  the  Athenians,  if  ever  they  were 
to  be  hard  pressed  by  land,  to  transfer  themselves  to  the 
harbour  town,  and  to  concentrate  all  their  resistance  in 
their  navy." 

Before  considering  whether  there  are  any  extant 
remains  of  these  walls  of  Themistocles,  it  will  be  best 
to  take  a  brief  survey  of  the  later  history  of  the  forti- 
fications of  Athens.  His  policy,  which  was  ultimately 
taken  up  and  extended  by  Pericles,  was  for  a  time 
discredited   after  his   disgrace   and  exile,  and  the  work 

done  under  Cimon  pro- 
ceeded upon  different 
lines.  There  is,  however, 
a  piece  of  wall  in  Athens 
which,  though  we  have 
no  record  of  its  erection, 
must  have  been  built  in 
the  time  of  Themistocles  ; 
and  this  is  the  wall,  still 
extant,  along  the  north  side  of  the  Acropolis.  This 
wall,  unlike  that  on  the  east  and  south,  follows  the 
contours  of  the  rock  in  a  series  of  short  stretches 
separated  by  angles,  and  there  arc  built  into  it  many 
columns,  architraves,  and  other  fragments  of  the  build- 
ings  destroyed    by   the    Persians;   thus   it  offers  a  strik- 


Marble  Drums. 

Buill   into  the  north  wall  of  the  Acropolis. 


WALLS   OF   THE   ACROPOLIS   AND   THE    IOWA 


53 


ing  analogy  to  the  walls  of  the  town  which  date  from 
the  time  of  Themistocles,  and  which  Thupydides  re- 
cords to  have  been  built  in  part  of  previously  wrought 
blocks;  the  buildings  from  which  these  blocks  were 
taken  will  claim  our  attention  later.  This  general  char- 
acter of  the  north  wall  of  the  Acropolis  contrasts  most 
strongly,  both  in  its  materials  and  in  its  plan,  with  the 


jjiwr 


i  tiiift   4 


-  „■  -  & ...  • 


The  Acropolis  from  the  South,  showing  the  Cimonian  Wall. 
The  row  of  arches  below  is  the  back  of  the  Stoa  of  Eumenes. 

splendid  wall  of  the  south  and  east  sides.  This  was 
erected  by  Cimon  out  of  the  spoils  which  he  won  from 
the  Persians  at  the  battle  of  the  Eurymedon  in  468  B.C., 
and  is  itself,  both  in  conception  and  execution,  among 
the  most  splendid  monuments  of  Athens.  Instead  of 
following,  like  the  Pelasgic  wall  and  the  later  north 
wall,  the  irregular  contours  of  the  rock,  it  ran  in  three 
straight  and  unbroken  sweeps  from  the  north-east  to 
the  south-east  corner,  from   the   south-east   corner   to   a 


54  ANCIENT  ATHENS 

point  south  of  the  western  end  of  the  Parthenon,  and 
thence  ao-ain  to  the  corner  of  the  south-western  bastion. 
To  the  splendid  sweep  of  this  wall  is  mainly  due  the 
symmetrical  and  regular  plan  that  impresses  any  vis- 
itor to  the  Acropolis,  and  that  forms  so  conspicuous  a 
feature  in  the  map  of  Athens.  And  it  was  not  carried 
out  without  considerable  engineering  skill ;  the  rock 
falls  away  rapidly  on  the  southern  side,  and  the  old 
Pelasgian  fortification  is  a  considerable  distance  within 
the  Cimonian  wall,  which  is  built  of  sufficient  height 
and  thickness  to  bring  the  plateau  on  this  side  up  to 
the  level  of  the  highest  platform  of  the  Acropolis,  and 
to  support  the  immense  weight  of  the  earth  that  had 
to  be  piled  up  within  it  for  this  purpose.  This  wall 
of  Cimon  was  not,  in  fact,  a  fortification  wall,  but  a 
terrace  wall.  For  the  purposes  of  defence  the  earlier 
line  had  sufficed ;  but  Cimon's  object  was  to  make  the 
whole  Acropolis  a  worthy  centre  of  the  city,  itself  a 
dedication  to  Athena,  and  for  this  purpose  he  gave  it 
the  broad  and  level  platform  and  the  symmetry  of 
shape  that  still  characterise  it.  On  the  north  side 
he  contented  himself  with  finishing  the  wall  of  The- 
mistocles,  raising  the  level  of  the  ground  some  two 
or  three  feet,  and  building  into  it  the  staircase  that 
descends  to  the  grotto  of  Agraulos ;  at  the  western 
entrance  more  extensive  additions  were  necessary,  if 
the  approach  was  to  be  worthy  of  the  enlarged  pre- 
cinct to  which  it  led.  We  have  seen  that  there  was 
a  bastion    projecting   to  the   south    of   the   entrance  of 


WALLS   OF   THE   ACROPOLIS  AND   THE   TOWN 


55 


l   $ 


ft. 


Bastion  and  Temple  of  Nike,  from  below. 

the  old  Pelasgic  fortification,  and  probably  enclosing  a 
shrine  of  Athena,  the  Giver  of  Victory.  This  bastion 
was  enclosed  in  a  rectangular  projection  uniform  with 
the  south  wall,  and  a  gate-house  or  propylaea  was  built 
to  the  north  of  it,  of  which  some  traces  may  still  be 
seen  beneath  the  more  magnificent  building  of  Peri- 
cles. This  gate-house  faced  rather  to  the  south-west ; 
one  of  the  antas  that  enclosed  it  may  still  be  seen 
outside  the  later  propylaea  on  the  south,  and  the 
line  of  its  foundation  may  also  be  traced  in  the  rock 
in  the  later  gateway.  The  gate-house  was  set  at  an 
obtuse  angle  to  the  old  Pelasgian  wall,  of  which  a 
considerable  portion  had  been  left  standing  here,  and 
formed  the  boundary  of  the  precinct  of  Artemis 
Brauronia.        This     rough    early    wall    was    evidently 


56  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

thought  to  be  out  of  keeping  with  its  new  surround- 
ings ;  and  so  it  was  faced  with  thin  slabs  of  marble, 
and  at  its  base  were  set  steps  of  the  same  material, 
which  returned  to  border  the  bastion  on  the  south. 
Just  outside  the  gate  stood  a  tripod  on  a  base.  All 
these    arrangements    can    still    be   clearly   traced    where 

O  J 

they  project  to  the  south  of  the  later  propylaea.  The 
date  of  the  gate-house  and  its  appurtenances  has  been 
disputed,  and  some  authorities  prefer  to  assign  it  to 
the  time  of  Pisistratus ;  but  it  does  not  seem  appro- 
priate to  the  entrance  of  what  was,  in  his  days,  still  a 
fortress,  and  the  material  of  the  anta,  steps,  and  casing 
of  the  Pelasgic  wall,  which  is  Pentelic  marble,  seems 
decisive  against  a  sixth-century  date. 

Themistocles  had  advised  the  Athenians  to  trust  to 
the  sea,  and,  if  they  were  hard  pressed,  to  transfer  their 
city  to  the  Piraeus.  It  was  a  brilliant  adaptation  of 
the  spirit  of  this  policy  to  build  the  famous  Long  Walls, 
connecting  the  city  with  its  harbour  town,  and  so  to 
make  Athens  itself  practically  into  a  seaport.  Pau- 
sanias  attributes  this  design  to  Themistocles;  Plutarch 
informs  us  that  Cimon  began  the  Long  Walls,  and  him- 
self contributed  to  the  heavy  expense  of  laying  founda- 
tions of  shingle  and  heavy  stones  across  the  marsh; 
but  this  must  have  been  a  lengthy  undertaking,  and 
the  completion  of  the  Long  Walls  as  well  as  of  the 
Wall  of  the  Piraeus  must  be  attributed  to  Pericles;  the 
whole  system  of  fortification  was  a  necessary  condition 
of   bis   policy.      We  learn    indeed    from    Thucydides   that 


WALLS   OF   THE    ACROPOLIS   AND   THE   TOWN         57 

the  Long  Walls  were  begun  about  460  B.C.,  and  finished 
about  458  ;  and  as  these  dates  belong  to  the  early  days 
of  the  ascendency  of  Pericles,  and  fall  between  the  ban- 
ishment of  Cimon  in  461  and  his  recall  in  45«S,  they  pre- 
clude the  possibility  of  Cimbn's  taking  part  in  the  work, 
unless  we  suppose  that  it  had  already  been  begun  before 
461  B.C.,  but  had  not  got  beyond  foundations,  and  that 
it  was  seriously  taken  up  for  completion  in  460.  In 
this  year  Socrates,  then  a  boy  of  ten,  may  well  have 
heard  Pericles  make  the  speech  in  favour  of  building 
the  walls  between  '  the  city  and  the  Piraeus,  according 
to  the  story  told  by  him   in   Plato's   Gorgias.1 

The  two  Long  Walls  were  known  as  the  Piraic  or 
northern  and  the  Phaleric  or  southern  ;  they  ran  par- 
allel to  one  another  for  most  of  their  length,  and  were 
550  feet  apart.  Considerable  remains  of  both  were 
seen  by  Leake;  but  they  have  now  almost  entirely  dis- 
appeared. At  each  end  they  diverged,  to  join  advan- 
tageous points  in  the  circuits  of  the  city  and  of  the 
Piraeus.  A  strange  error  as  to  the  position  of  the  Pha- 
leric wall  is  found  in  most  modern  topographies  and 
maps  of  Athens,  though  not  in  Leake.  This  is  the 
supposition  that  it  ran  to  what  is  now  called  Old  Pha- 
lerum  at  the  eastern  end  of  the  Phaleric  Bay,  instead 
of  to  the  corner  of  the  Piraic  promontory  that  encloses 

1  This  meaning  of  to  dia  nicrov  reixos  is  defended  by  Leake,  and  seems  probable. 
The  interpretation  as  "the  middle  or  third  wall"  is  that  of  some  commentators  on 
Plato;  but  Dio  Chrysostom  certainly  uses  the  expression  in  the  former  sense,  Or.  6. 
p.  S7.     See  note  on  "  the  third  Long  Wall  "  at  end  of  chapter. 

2  455  E> 


58  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

the  bay  at  its  western  end.  The  proof  that  the  latter 
is  the  correct  position  of  Phalerum  is  given  in  the 
chapter  on  the  Piraeus;  here  it  concerns  us  to  notice 
that  a  wall  connecting  Athens  with  the  east  end  of  the 
Phaleric  Bay  would  be  perfectly  useless  as  a  defence, 
for  with  the  Piraic  wall  it  would  form  a  triangle  of  which 
the  base  is  the  open  sandy  beach  of  the  Phaleric  Bay. 
This  beach,  as  we  have  seen,  offers  easy  landing,  and 
was  never  protected  in  any  way  against  invasion,  so  that 
an  enemy,  by  a  sudden  descent,  could  at  any  time  have 
established  himself  within  the  defences  of  the  city.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  whole  circuit  of  the  Piraic  peninsula, 
though  it  is  rocky  and  ill  adapted  for  landing,  was  de- 
fended by  a  wall  close  to  the  sea,  of  which  considerable 
remains  may  still  be  seen ;  and  so,  if  the  two  Long 
Walls  reached  from  Athens  to  either  end  of  its  junction 
with  the  land,  the  circle  of  fortification  would  be  com- 
plete and  unassailable.  The  architect  who  built  the 
Long  Walls  was  Callicrates,  the  same  man  who  designed 
the  temple  of  Wingless  Victory  and  assisted  Ictinus  in 
the  construction  of  the   Parthenon. 

With  the  completion  of  the  walls  of  the  city  and  the 
Pirauus,  and  the  Long  Walls  to  connect  them,  the  forti- 
fications of  Athens  took  the  form  which  they  retained 
all  through  the  days  of  independent  Greece;  but  not 
without  being  destroyed  and  rebuilt  upon  several  occa- 
sions. The  story  is  familiar  how,  after  the  fall  of  Athens 
at  the  close  of  the  Peloponnesian  War,  Lysander  caused 
the  walls  of  the  Piraeus  and  the  Long  Walls  to  be  pulled 


WALLS  OF  THE  ACROPOLIS  AND  THE  TOWN    59 

down  to  the  sound  of  the  flute,  while  the  Spartan  allies 
kept  High  festival  over  what  they  called  the  beginning 
of  freedom.  The  fortress  of  Munychia,  however,  which 
had  been  built  by  Hippias  before  the  Piraeus  was  forti- 
fied,1 was  only  partially  dismantled;  for  Thrasybulus, 
after  his  bold  descent  from  Phyle,  seized  and  held  it, 
until  the  expulsion  of  the  Thirty  Tyrants.  The  first 
thing  Conon  did,  after  his  victory  at  Cnidus  had  restored 
Athens  to  something  like  her  former  state,  was  to  re- 
build the  Long  Walls ;  and  later  travellers,  such  as 
Pausanias,  looked  upon  the  remains  they  saw  as  the  work 
of  Conon,  though  the  walls  had  undergone  many  vicissi- 
tudes in  the  meanwhile.  We  have  many  records,  both 
in  the  works  of  historians  and  in  inscriptions,  of  repairs 
or  restorations  of  the  walls  —  especially  after  the  battle  of 
Chaeronea,  and  again  during  the  administration  of  Habron 
the  son  of  Lycurgus.  Demetrius  Poliorcetes,  during  his 
occupation  of  Athens,  demolished  the  fort  on  Munychia, 
and  built  one  on  the  Museum  Hill.  When  Philip  V.  of 
Macedon  attacked  Athens,  in  200  B.C.,  Livy  says  that 
the  Long  Walls  were  in  ruins;  and  Sulla  built  a  good 
deal  of  what  was  left  of  them  into  the  mound  he  raised 
against  the  city  by  the  Dipylon  Gate ;  when  he  captured 
Athens  he  destroyed  the  city  wall  from  the  Sacred  Gate 
to  the  Piraic.  Calenus,  Caesar's  legate,  found  the  Piraeus 
an  unwalled  town  in  48  B.C. ;  and  probably  in  later 
times  the  Long  Walls  as  well  as  the  walls  of  the  Piraeus 
remained  a  memory  only;   they  were  useless  when  the 

1  Arist.  Ath.  Pol.  c.  38. 


6o 


ANCIENT  ATHENS 


naval  power  of  Athens  was  gone.  The  city  walls,  on 
the  other  hand,  were  renewed  and  even  increased. 
Hadrian  added  a  large  new  quarter,  and  there  are 
records  of  fortification,  now  needful  against  barbarian 
inroads,  under  Valerian  and  Justinian.  These  probably 
followed  the  old  lines.  In  the  days  of  Frankish  and 
Turkish  rule  the  enclosure  of  the  town  was  only  a  small 
oblong  north  of   the  Acropolis,  as  may  be  seen  in  old 


The  Acropolis  from  the  West. 
From  Stuart's  Antiquities  of  Athens. 

views  of  Athens ;  its  chief  interest  for  us  lies  in  the 
fact  that  its  western  edge  followed  and  so  preserved  in 
part  the  Stoa  of  Attalus.  The  Acropolis  was  again 
made  into  a  citadel;  its  walls  were  cased  with  masonry 
and  supported  with  buttresses;  at  its  western  approach 
a  series  of  batteries  and  outworks  were  built  which 
recall  the  arrangements  of  the  primitive  Pelasgicon  or 
"Nine  Gates";  the  Odeum  of  Herodes  was  included 
in    the  defences,  and  on    the  southern  wing  of  the    Pro- 


WALLS   OF   THE   ACROPOLIS   AND   THE   TOWN         61 

pylaea  was  built  the  Prankish  tower  which  forms  so  con- 
spicuous a  landmark  in  early  pictures  of  the  Acropolis. 
Last  of  all,  in  the  War  of  Independence,  Odysseus  An- 
droutsos  built  the  bastion  over  the  Clepsydra,  in  order  to 
secure  a  water  supply  for  the  defenders  of  the  Acropolis. 
This  bastion  and  the  Prankish  tower,  as  well  as  the 
later  outworks  at  the  western  end  of  the  Acropolis,  have 
now  been  cleared  away.  Some  of  this  destruction  of 
more  recent  monuments,  though  less  reprehensible  in 
Athens  than  elsewhere,  is  to  be  regretted.  But  the 
modern  authorities  have  been  guided  almost  exclusively 
by  the  recollection  of  the  glory  of  Athens  in  classical 
times,  and  have  not  unnaturally  ignored  the  records  of 
an  age  when  she  was  but  a  provincial  town,  with  little 
architectural  character  beyond  what  was  bequeathed  by 
"  the  splendour  of  her  prime." 

This  brief  historical  survey  will  suffice  to  prepare  us 
for  observing  the  actual  remains  of  the  walls  of  Athens, 
and  to  show  us  the  period  and  character  of  the  work 
which  we  must  expect  to  find  in  various  places.  The 
circuit  of  the  city  itself  never  appears  to  have  been  com- 
pletely destroyed  after  it  was  once  built  by  Themis- 
tocles  ;  but  it  was  so  often  restored  or  repaired  that  we 
should  not  be  surprised  to  find  later  works  in  any  part 
of  it.  Vitruvius  records  that  the  sides  facing  Hvmettus 
and  Pentelictis  were  built  of  brick  —  probably  unburnt 
brick ;  and  so  in  these  portions  we  could  not  expect  to 
find  anything  but  foundations  left,  unless  it  belonged 
to  Roman  imperial  times.     Its  line  can  be  traced  with 


62 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


tolerable  certainty  throughout,  though  in  the  part  occu- 
pied by  the  modern  town  the  records  of  isolated  and 
often  accidental  discoveries  have  to  be  pieced  together, 
and  nothing  of  it  can  be  seen,  unless  the  digging  of  a 
large  hole  for  the  foundations  for  a  house  or  for  some 
other  purpose  has  laid  it  bare.  An  exception  exists  in 
the     Dipylon    Gate    and    its    immediate    surroundings, 


The  Dipylon  Gate  (above,  to  the  Left). 

In  front,  the  double  line  of  later  and  earlier  wall. 

which  have  been  cleared  by  the  systematic  excavations 
of  the  Greek  Archaeological  Society.  This  was  evi- 
dently regarded  as  the  most  vulnerable  point  of  Athens. 
It  was  here  that  Philip  V.  of  Macedon  made  his  unsuc- 
cessful assault  in  200  B.C.,  and  that  Sulla  built  the  mound 
by  which  he  captured  the  city.  The  foundations  of 
the  Dipylon  Gate,  and  the  lower  part  of  the  walls  on 
either  side  of   it,  may  now  be  seen,  and  give   us  a  very 


WALLS   OF   THE   ACROPOLIS   AND   THE   TOWN         63 

fair  notion  of  the  defences  of  Athens.  The  gate  itself,  as 
its  name  implies,  is  a  double  one ;  double  in  both  senses, 
for  it  has  an  outer  and  an  inner  gate,  separated  by  an 
enclosed  court,  and  each  of  these  gates  is  divided  into 
two  by  a  pillar  in  the  middle.  The  value  of  the  inter- 
vening court  was  shown  when  Philip  V.,  having  forced 
the  outer  gate,  rashly  rode  into  it  at  the  head  of  a  body 
of  cavalry;  he  found  himself  surrounded  and  under  a 
cross  fire,  and  only  extricated  himself  with  difficulty. 
The  Dipylon  was  also  the  most  frequented  by  traffic 
among  the  gates  of  Athens.  It  formed  the  boundary 
between  the  inner  and  outer  Ceramicus,  between  the 
Agora  and  the  Potters'  Quarter,  which  still  preserves 
its  traditional  industry  owing  to  the  unrivalled  Attic 
clay,  which  is  there  found  in  the  greatest  abundance. 
In  early  times  it  was  known  as  the  Thriasian  Gate, 
because  it  led  to  the  Thriasian  plain ;  and  the  Sacred 
Way  to  Eleusis,  which  must  also  have  been,  then  as 
now,  the  chief  highway  to  the  rest  of  Greece,  ran 
through  the  Sacred  Gate,  which  either  was  another 
name  for  the  Dipylon,  or  else  is  to  be  identified  as  the 
smaller  opening  in  the  wall  a  little  to  the  south  —  an 
opening  which  perhaps  served  only  for  the  outflow  of 
the  Eridanus.1  In  any  case  the  Sacred  Way  ran 
between  the  rows  of  sculptured  tombs  that  now  dis- 
tinguish the  Ceramicus  ;  and  the  place  was  doubtless 
chosen  for  these,  not  only  because  the  great  procession 
of   the  mysteries    passed    every  year,  but   also  because 

1  See  p.   17. 


64  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

they  would  be  seen  by  the  majority  of  the  wayfarers 
who  approached  Athens  or  departed  from  it,  whether 
they  travelled  by  land  or  by  sea.  For  although  the 
Dipylon  was  at  some  little  distance  from  the  Piraic  Gate, 
which  lay  farther  to  the  south,  near  to  the  modern 
Observatory,  most  travellers  would  probably  prefer  to 
keep  to  the  level  ground  outside  the  walls,  and  to 
follow  the  route  that  is  still  taken,  as  the  most  conven- 
ient by  the  road  and  by  the  railway  from  Piraeus.  Pau- 
sanias  approached  Athens  in  this  way,  and  so  begins  his 
description  of  Athens  at  the  Dipylon  Gate ;  and  he 
doubtless  followed  the  traditional  route  prescribed  for 
visitors  by  the  guides  of  his  own  day.  Roads  from  the 
Dipylon  also  diverged  to  the  Academy  and  to  Phyle. 

The  foundations  of  the  line  of  wall  in  which  the  Dipy- 
lon Gate  is  set  may  well  have  formed  part  of  the 
original  wall  as  built  by  Themistocles,  and  some  of  the 
lower  courses  of  the  same  date  still  remain;  during 
the  excavations  there  were  actually  found,  built  into  the 
wall,  some  early  tombstones,  which  illustrate  the  state- 
ment of  Thucydides  that,  in  the  haste  of  the  building, 
"  many  tombstones  and  wrought  blocks  from  earlier 
edifices  were  pressed  into  the  service."  On  the  hill 
that  slopes  up  to  the  south,  toward  the  Piraic  Gate, 
though  the  foundations  are  early,  the  superstructure  is 
of  the  most  heterogeneous  character;  and  so  we  are 
reminded  of  the  fact  that  Sulla  had  razed  this  portion  to 
the  ground.  Outside  the  main  wall  at  this  point  was  a 
second   line   of   wall  set   about  20  feet  in    front  of  it,  and 


WALLS   OF   THE   ACROPOLIS    AND   THE   TOWN 


65 


constructed  in  a  good  period,  perhaps  the  fourth  cen- 
tury. The  city  wall  can  be  traced  from  the  Dipylon 
round  the  western  heights,  partly  by  the  scanty  traces 
of  its  foundations,  partly  by  the  natural  conformation 
of   the   ground ;    but   the   position   of   the  gates   in   this 


The  Sacred  Gate. 
The  arch  behind  marks  the  course  of  the  Eridanus. 

region  is  for  the  most  part  conjectural.  The  Piraic 
Gate  came  next  to  the  Sacred  Gate,  and  was  probably 
on  the  northern  slope  of  the  hill  now  crowned  by  the 
Observatory,  and  now  sometimes  called  from  an  in- 
scription found  on  it  the  Hill  of  the  Nymphs.  Just 
outside  it  lav  the  Barathron,  where  the  bodies  of 
executed  criminals  were  exposed.  In  the  stretch  of 
city  wall  between  the  ends  of  the  two  Long  Walls, 
there  are  obvious  places  for  two  gates,  one  just  south 
of  the  Observatory,  another  in  the  dip  where  the 
church  of  St.  Demetrius  Lombardaris  now  stands ; 
one    of    the    two    must    have    been    the    Melitan    Gate. 


66 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


These  two  gates  led  into  the  area  enclosed  by  the 
north-eastern  portion  of  the  Long  Walls,  before  their 
parallel  course  toward  the  Piraeus  ;  or  perhaps  it  would 
be  more  accurate  to  describe  this  space  as  an  adjunct 
of  the  city,  between  the  town  and  the  Long  Walls ;  for 
we  shall  see  that  it  was  included  in  the  city  ward  in 
the  division  implied  by  Thucydides.  It  was  known  as 
Koikr),  or  "the  Hollow,"  from  the  deep  valley  between  the 
ridges  that  enclose  it,  and  is  remarkable  for  the  con- 
siderable traces  which   it  still   retains  of  rock-cut  dwell- 


The  Barathron. 

Above  is  the  Observatory. 

ings,  some  of  them  primitive,  but  many  of  them, 
doubtless,  still  inhabited  in  historical  times.  Outside 
the  Phaleric  Wall,  to  the  south,  was  the  Itonian  Gate, 
through  which  passed  the  ordinary  road  to  Phalerum, 
and  a  little  farther  on  the  Gate  mentioned  in  the 
Codrus  inscription,1  by  which    the    Mystae   went   clown 

1  CIA.  iv.  53  a. 


WALLS   OF   THE   ACROPOLIS   AND   THE    TOWN 


67 


The  Arch  of  Hadrian. 
Behind,  the  Olympieum  and  Hymettus. 

to  the  sea  in  the  Phaleric  Bay.1  About  here  the  circuit 
of  the  city  of  Hadrian  must  have  diverged  from  that  of 
the  walls  of  Themistocles.  The  line  of  the  older  wall 
can  no  longer  be  traced  ;  but  the  discovery  of  tombs 
below  some  of  the  streets  of  modern  Athens  shows  that 
it  must  have  lain  considerably  within  Hadrian's  Wall, 
of  which  traces  may  still  be  seen  in  the  Palace  Garden. 
The  Gate  of  Hadrian,  with  its  pompous  inscription, 
distinguishing  the  city  of  Hadrian  from  the  city  of 
Theseus,  probably  marks  the  site  of  a  gate  in  the 
earlier  wall,  leading  out  to  the  Olympieum  and  to  Callir- 
rhoe.     Farther    along    must     have    been    the     Gate    of 

1  The  exchange  of  the  position  of  these  two  gates  is  a  necessary  corollary  of  the 
position  now  given  to  Phalerum. 


68  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

Diochares,  which  we  know  to  have  been  near  the 
Lyceum,  and  the  Diomean  Gate,  to  the  north-east  of  the 
city ;  and  here  also  we  must  look  for  the  gate,  possibly 
identical  with  one  of  these  two,  by  the  fountain  of 
Panops.  The  circuit  of  Hadrian's  Wall,  which  included 
the  Olympieum,  must  have  had  gates  leading  to  Callir- 
rhoe  and  to  the  Stadium  by  the  bridge  across  the 
Ilissus,  as  well  as  gates  corresponding  to  those  already 
mentioned  in  the  earlier  circuit.  At  the  north  of  the 
city,  leading  into  the  plain  just  to  the  west  of  Lycabet- 
tus,  was  the  Acharnian  Gate,  from  which  several  roads 
diverged ;  and  between  this  and  the  Dipylon  was 
another  gate  which  offered  the  most  direct  approach  to 
Colonus  and  the  Academy,  though  the  customary  walk 
to  the  latter  appears  to  have  been  by  way  of  the  Dipylon. 
The  northern  limit  to  the  town  may  be  traced  in  this 
region  by  considerable  remains  of  a  wall  of  squared 
blocks,  which  have  been  found  close  to  the  modern 
Sophocles  Street.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  ancient  city 
spread  an  almost  equal  distance  from  the  Acropolis  in 
all  directions,  unlike  the  modern  town,  which  now 
occupies  almost  as  great  an  area,  but  lies  almost  entirely 
to  the  north  and  east,  leaving  bare  the  whole  of  the 
region  between  the  Acropolis  and  the  sea. 

//  a  and  b.     Two  Notes  on   Thucydidcs,  II.  ij.  6 

(a)  The  Third  Long  Wall. —  The  existence  of  a  third 
Long  Wall,  though  rejected  1))'  Leake,  is  assumed  by 
mosl  recent  topographers;  and  so  it  is  necessary  to  note 


WALLS   OF   THE   ACROPOLIS   AND    THE    TOWN         6g 

the  literary  evidence  on  which  the  assumption  rests. 
No  remains  of  any  third  Long  Wall  exist  now,  or  are 
recorded  as  ever  having  existed ;  and  the  strategic  neces- 
sity and  probability  of  such  a  wall  disappears,  if  the  Pha- 
leric  Wall  be  placed  in  its  true  position  parallel  to  the 
Piraic,  instead  of  being  directed  to  the  eastern  side  of 
the   Phaleric  Bay.1 

The  expression  to  Sia  fieaov  rei)(o<?  occurs  in  Plato, 
Gorgias  455  E,  and  has  been  interpreted  both  by  Har- 
pocration  and  by  modern  writers  as  referring  to  the 
third  wall ;  but  its  most  probable  meaning,  as  Leake 
points  out,  is  "the  wall  between  city  and  port,"  the  sense 
in  which  it  is  used  by  Dio  Chrysostom,  Or.  6.  p.  87;  it 
is  indeed  very  doubtful  Greek  for  "  the  middle  wall  "  ; 
to  fxeaou  ret^o?  would  be  both  simple  and  clearer  in  this 
sense.  Apart  from  this  expression,  the  only  evidence  2 
for  a  third  wall  is  the  passage  of  Thucydides,  II.  13.  6, 
in  which  he  makes  Pericles  speak  of  the  walls  which 
had  to  be  held  in  defending  Athens.  "  Of  the  Phaleric 
Wall  there  were  35  stades  to  the  circuit  of  the  city,  and 
of  the  city  circuit  itself  there  were  43  to  be  guarded ; 
for  the  part  between  the  Long  Wall  and  the  Phaleric 
Wall  required  no  guard.  And  the  Long  Walls  to  the 
Piraeus  were  40  stades,  of  which  the  outer  face  only  was 
watched ;  and  the  whole  enclosure  of  Piraeus  and  Mu- 
nychia  was   60  stades,  and  half  of   this   was  guarded." 

1  See  Angelopoulos'  Ilepi  HeipaiQs. 

2  Leake  rightly  discounts  Harpocration's  quotation  from  Aristophanes  about 
"three  walls  in  Attica"  ;  there  is  no  proof  that  Aristophanes  here  referred  to 
the  Long  Walls. 


70  ANCIENT  ATHENS 

At  first  sight  this  passage  certainly  appears  to  imply 
that  there  were  two  Long  Walls  to  the  Piraeus,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  one  to  Phalerum.  On  the  other  hand,  Thu- 
cydides himself,  in  another  passage,1  refers  to  two  walls 
only,  the  Piraic  and  Phaleric ;  Xenophon,2  yEschines,3 
Andocides,4  and  Livy5  refer  to  two  only;  and  two  only, 
the  northern  and  southern,  are  mentioned  in  the  inscrip- 
tion concerning  the  rebuilding  of  the  Long  Walls  under 
Habron.6  Moreover,  the  expressions  crKeXyj  and  brac/iia, 
applied  to  them  in  Greek  and  Latin  respectively,  are 
suitable  for  two  walls,  but  not  for  three.  It  follows  that 
in  Thucydides,  II.  13,  we  must  accept  one  of  two  expla- 
nations. Either  there  was,  for  a  short  time,  an  interven- 
ing wall  close  to  the  northern  wall,  possibly  built  after 
the  others  as  an  extra  precaution,  and  never  restored 
after  the  destruction  of  the  Long  Walls  at  the  close  of 
the  Peloponnesian  War;  such  a  wall  would  easily  be 
forgotten  if  its  materials  were  used  up  when  Conon 
rebuilt  the  other  two ;  or  else,  as  is  more  probable,  the 
Piraic  Wall,  which  was  the  more  important  and  the 
more  liable  to  attack,  was  a  double  wall,  with  a  face 
on  either  side.  This  last  supposition  would  fit  the 
language  of  Thucydides  completely;  for  he  sometimes 
speaks  of  the  Piraic  Long  Wall  (in  the  singular),  some- 
times the  Piraic  Long  Walls  (in  the  plural),  and  in  both 
cases  opposes  the  Piraic  to  the  Phaleric.  And,  if  /Es- 
chines   and   Andocides   are  right  in  asserting  that   the 

1  I.  107.  ;i  II.  173,  174.  r>  XXXI.  26.  8. 

•~  Hell,  II.  2.  15.  *  I II.  4,  5,  7.  «  CIA.  II.  167.  1.  120  sqq. 


WALLS   OF   THE    ACROPOLIS    AND    THE   TOWN         71 

northern  wall  was  built  several  years  before  the  south- 
ern, it  would,  if  double,  have  been  tenable  alone  as  a 
means  of  communication   in  the  interim. 

(b)  On  the  Length  of  the  Walls,  as  given  in  Thncydi- 
des,  II.  1  J. —  If  the  figures  given  in  this  passage  are  right, 
it  is  impossible  to  reconcile  them  with  extant  remains  and 
geographical  conditions  as  recognised  by  modern  topog- 
raphers. The  circuit  of  the  city  wall  is  far  too  long  ;  on 
the  other  hand,  the  length  of  both  the  Piraic  and  Pha- 
leric  Long  Walls  is  too  short.  The  length  given  for  the 
circuit  of  Piraeus  and  Munychia  is  about  right ;  but,  if 
only  half  of  it  required  guarding,  the  Long  Walls  must 
have  joined  it  much  farther  from  each  other  than  they 
are  usually  drawn ;  they  must,  when  they  ceased  to  be 
parallel,  have  diverged  broadly,  to  join  either  edge  of 
the  Piraic  peninsula;  and  this  demands  a  considerable 
increase  in  their  length. 

The  measures  in  stades  given  by  Thucydides  are : 
Phaleric  Wall,  35  ;  circuit  of  city  (exclusive  of  space 
between  Long  Walls),  43 ; x  Piraic  Wall,  40;  circuit  of 
Piraeus  and  Munychia,  total,  60;  guarded,  30.  The 
change  required  to  reconcile  these  measurements  with 
the  facts  is  a  simple  one.  Something  has  to  be  taken 
off  the  measure  of  the  city  circuit  and  added  to  that  of 
the  Long  Walls.     This  is  easily  clone  if  we  imagine  that 

1  The  measurement  of  60  stades,  given  by  Aristodemus  and  others,  is  obviously  a 
rough  estimate,  like  the  30,000  spectators  in  the  theatre.  The  scholiast's  attempt  to 
reconcile  it  with  Thucydides'  estimate  of  43  by  reckoning  the  unguarded  part  between 
the  Long  Walls  at  17  is  absurd.  Even  as  measured  on  Curtius'  map,  this  distance 
only  amounts  to  5  stades. 


72  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

the  limit  of  the  city  walls  was  taken,  not,  as  is  usually 
done,  along  the  ridge  of  the  Pnyx  Hill,  but  farther 
toward  the  Piraeus,  where  the  lines  of  the  Long  Walls 
begin  to  be  parallel,  and  where  a  cross  wall  is  marked 
in  Curtius'  map.  Roughly  measured,  the  circuit  along 
the  line  of  the  old  city  wall  amounts  to  only  28  stades  ; 
but  the  additional  piece  thus  added  is  about  15  stades, 
and  so  makes  up  the  43  given  by  Thucydides.  And 
this  extra  15,  divided  between  the  two  Long  Walls, 
allows  them  to  diverge  much  more  widely  at  the  Piraeus 
end,  and  so  to  free  the  guard  of  about  half  the  walls  of 
the  Piraeus. 

An  explanation  of  the  arrangement  is  also  obvious. 
The  circuit  usually  taken  is  doubtless  the  original  line 
of  the  city  wall.  But  we  know  that  for  military  pur- 
poses Athens  was  divided,  during  the  Peloponnesian 
War,  into  three  wards,  the  City,  the  Long  Walls,  and 
the  Piraeus.1  It  would  be  advisable  to  have  the  length 
of  wall  to  be  guarded  in  each  approximately  the  same  ; 
and  this  object  would  be  gained  by  making  the  divi- 
sion as  here  suggested.  The  city,  as  the  most  con- 
venient, would  be  slightly  the  longest,  for  the  two  Long 
Walls,  being  so  close  to  one  another,  would  practically 
require  only  one  garrison  for  the  two;  and  the  Piraeus, 
though  the  part  of  its  circuit  requiring  defence  was 
shorter,  was  of  an  awkward  shape,  and  so  more  exposed, 
as  well  as  farther  from  the  bulk  of  the  citizens. 
1  Polyaenus,  I.  40  ;  cf.  Andoc.  ,/,■  Myst.  p.  23,  Reiske. 


CHAPTER    III 

THE  ACROPOLIS  BEFORE   THE  PERSIAN  WARS 

The  position  of  Athens,  with  its  rocky  hills  at  a 
convenient  distance  from  the  sea,  was  such  as  to 
attract    settlers    even    before    the    traditional   concentra- 


A  Rock-cut  House. 
Commonly  called  the  Prison  of  Socrates. 

tion  of  the  scattered  townships  of  Attica  which  was 
commemorated  in  the  festival  of  the  Syncecia,  and 
associated  with  the  name  of  Theseus.  Some  traces 
of  these  early  settlements  still  remain.  Amongst  the 
earliest  walls  on  the  Acropolis  and  under  its  southern 

73 


74 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


slope  there  have  been  found  fragments  of  rough  pot- 
tery of  a  type  that  was  prevalent  throughout  the 
coasts  of  the  Mediterranean  in  prehistoric  times,  and 
that  precedes  in  Greece  what  is  known  as  the  Myce- 
naean era.  On  the  seaward  slopes  of  the  Pnyx  Hill 
there   exist  a    great   number   of   cuttings    in    the    rock, 


Koile,  with  Foundations  of  Houses  and  Steps. 

many  of  which  probably  go  back  to  a  very  primitive 
time.  They  consist  of  the  foundations  of  numerous 
houses,  mostly  of  one  room  only,  with  terraces,  steps, 
and  often  storehouses  or  cisterns;  these  last,  as  well 
as  some  of  the  chambers,  are  cut  in  the  solid  rock, 
and  suggest  subterranean  dwellings.  Curtius,  who 
first     studied     these    remains,     regarded     them     as     the 


THE    ACROPOLIS   BEFORE   THE    PERSIAN    WARS       75 

rock  city  (Kpavda  710X19)  of  the  early  Athenians.  This 
view  is  doubtless  correct  in  the  main;  hut  the  settle- 
ment on  the  Acropolis  was  probably  at  least  as  early, 
and  the  Rock  City  was  never  quite  deserted.  It  was 
not  far  from  the  hollow  between  Pnyx  and  Acropolis, 
always    a    centre    of    civic  life;  and  at  the  time  of  the 


Koile,  with  Rock-cut  Foundations. 
View  toward  Acropolis. 

Peloponnesian  War,  when  the  people  of  Attica  crowded 
within  the  fortifications,  this  quarter  must  again  have 
been  thickly  inhabited;  we  have  already  noticed  that 
it  was  probably  included  within  the  city  ward. 

There  are  also  considerable  remains  of  the  Mycenaean 
epoch  on  the  Acropolis,  contemporary  with  the  so-called 
Pelasgian  walls.     Not  only  has  a  good  deal   of    Myce- 


76  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

naean    pottery    and    other    antiquities    been    discovered, 

partly  scattered  over  the  site,  partly  in  tombs  or  houses, 
but  walls  and  chambers  of  houses  of  the  same  ao-e  are 
also  to  be  seen  in  many  places  on  the  Acropolis.  For 
the  most  part  these  do  not  give  any  consistent  or 
intelligible  plan,  but  there  is  one  notable  exception. 
Underneath  the  early  temple  of  Athena,  immediately 
to  the  south  of  the  Erechtheum,  there  have  been 
found  some  indications  that  in  themselves  appear  in- 
significant enough,  but  are  very  significant  if  we  com- 
pare them  with  precisely  similar  remains  that  have 
been  found  at  Tiryns,  Mycenae,  and  elsewhere.  The 
evidence  here  consists  of  two  square  stone  bases  cut 
round  at  the  top  so  as  to  fit  the  shafts  of  wooden 
columns,  and  certain  traces  of  walls  which  combine 
with  the  bases  to  indicate  the  plan  of  the  hall  of  a 
palace  of  the  Mycenaean  age.  It  can  hardly  be  an 
accident  that  this  hall  occupies  almost  exactly  the 
same  position  as  the  cella  of  the  early  temple  of 
.Athena  that  was  built  over  it.  We  are  reminded  by 
the  coincidence  of  two  passages  in  Homer:  the  one 
in  which  it  is  said  that  Athena  went  to  Athens,  after 
appearing  to  Odysseus, 

8l'V£   8    'E/jCX#//05  TTVKlvbv  So/AOJ/ 0(1.   VII.   S  I , 

and  the  other  that  tells  us  how  Athena  took  Erech- 
theus  when   born   from   the    Earth, 

Ka8'  8    iv  ,A6i'/vij<;  curtv  ew  ivl  irlovi  vrya> ' 
ti'On  8e  juv  ravpouri  kui  apveiols  IXdovrai 

KOVpOl     A  0J)Vai<t)V  TTifHTC Wo/U-'Olf  iviUVTWV.  — //.    11.    549* 


THE  ACROPOLIS   BEFORE  THE    PERSIAN    WARS       77 

From  Homer  it  would  appear  that  the  two  buildings 
were  identical,  the  well-built  house  of  Erechtheus,  and 
the  temple  of  Athena  in  which  she  established  him  and 
his  worship.  For  Athena  goes  to  the  house  of  Erech- 
theus as  her  favourite  abode,  just  as  Aphrodite  goes  to 
her  temple  at  Paphos.  The  relation  of  the  temple  of 
Athena  to  the  palace  of  Erechtheus  becomes  clearer  in 
the  light  of  the  extant  remains.  The  house  of  Erech- 
theus was  originally  just  like  any  other  house  of  the 
same  period  in  Greece,  and  can  hardly  have  been  any- 
thing else  than  the  palace  of  the  early  kings  of  Athens, 
placed  iii  the  best  position  on  their  citadel,  like  the 
palaces  of  Mycenae  and  Tiryns.  This  palace  doubtless 
had,  like  all  Others,  its  altar  of  Zeus  "EpKeLos  in  the  court, 
and  its  Hestia  in  the  hall ;  and  these  were  the  centres  of 
worship  for  the  king  and  his  household,  and  so  for  the 
state  generally,  in  primitive  times,  just  as  in  later  times 
civic  worship  centred  in  the  Tholus  and  the  Prytaneum 
in  the  Agora.  It  is,  however,  unusual  to  find  the  temple 
of  the  chief  deity  identical  with  such  a  centre  of  civic 
institutions,  and  there  is  some  difference  of  opinion 
whether  this  was  the  case  in  Athens.  On  the  one  hand 
we  have  the  Homeric  passages,  and  the  unusual  coinci- 
dence of  position  between  the  palace  and  the  early  tem- 
ple; on  the  other  hand  the  sacred  objects  associated  with 
the  most  primitive  religious  cults  of  Athens,  the  olive 
tree  of  Athena,  and  the  "  Sea  "  or  salt  spring  of  Posi- 
don,  together  with  the  trident  marks  from  which  it  rose, 
are  situated  to  the  north  of  the  palace,  within  or  close  to 


78  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

the  present  Erechtheum ;  and  therefore  it  has  been 
maintained  with  some  reason  that  the  earliest  and  most 
sacred  shrine  on  the  Acropolis  must  have  been  here. 
There  really  is  not  enough  evidence  to  decide  the  point ; 
no  trace  has  been  found  of  any  earlier  temple  on  the  site 
of  the  Erechtheum ;  and  so  it  is  possible  that  the  olive 
and  the  salt  spring  may  merely  have  been  enclosed  in  a 
sacred  precinct  north  of  the  old  palace  and  temple. 
The  peculiar  relation  of  the  temple  to  the  early  palace 
may,  if  so,  find  its  explanation  in  the  legendary  history 
of  the  kings  of  Athens ;  not  only  Erechtheus,  but 
Theseus  and  Codrus  also  enjoyed  almost  divine  hon- 
ours after  their  death ;  and  so  the  palace  associated 
with  them  might  appropriately  be  transformed  into  a 
temple. 

However  this  may  be,  the  remains  of  the  temple, 
though  only  foundations,  suffice  to  show  its  plan.  It 
was  divided  into  two  parts:  a  cella  facing  east,  divided 
by  two  rows  of  internal  columns  into  a  nave  and  aisles, 
and  with  a  pronaos  in  front  of  it ;  and  a  curious  and 
unique  arrangement  at  the  west.  Through  the  opistho- 
domus  one  entered  a  large  rectangular  chamber,  and 
from  the  back  of  this  opened  two  smaller  chambers, 
which  divided  between  them  the  whole  breadth  of  the 
temple.  The  foundations  of  this  structure  consist  en- 
tirely of  pieces  of  rock  quarried  from  the  Acropolis 
itself,  and  are  evidently  very  early  — how  early  it  is  im- 
possible to  say.  They  were  surrounded  by  a  peristyle 
of    which    also   the   foundations  only   remain;   these  are 


THE   ACROPOLIS    BEFORE   THE    PERSIAN    WARS       79 

formed  of  limestone  from  the  quarries  of  Kara"  at  the 
foot  of  Hymettus,  a  material  commonly  used  in  the  time 
of  Pisistratus  and  practically  unknown  at  other  periods. 
The  sculpture  that  once  filled   the   pediments  over  tin's 


Foundation  of  Peristyle  of  Old  Temple,  on  the  Right. 

Above  it,  Parthenon  on  right,  Erechtheum  on  left.     In  front,  on  left,  wall  of  Acropolis; 
on  right,  Mycenaean  houses. 

peristyle  has  now  been  partially  recovered,  and  its  style 
points  clearly  to  the  same  date.  There  can  hardly  be  a 
doubt  that  this  building  was  the  chief  temple  of  Athena 
from  the  time  when  it  was  built  until  the  Persian  Wars. 
We  know  but  little  of  its  history  during  this  time, 
though  we  hear  now  and  then  of  the  temple  of  Athena. 
Perhaps  the  most  interesting  references  are  to  the  visit 
of  Cleomenes,  the  Spartan  king,  and  the  tale  how  the 
priestess  of  Athena  forbade  him  to  approach  her  temple, 
which  no  Dorian  might  enter,  and  to  the  tragic  end  of 
Cylon's  conspiracy,  when  bis  followers,  despairing  of 
mercy,  fastened  a  rope  to  the  early  image,  in  the  vain 


8o  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

hope  that  its  sanctity  would  protect  them  as  they  left 
the  Acropolis.  The  official  title  of  the  temple  in  the 
time  before  the  Persian  Wars  was  the  Hecatompedon  (or 
hundred-foot  temple),  a  title  which,  though  not  of  a 
primitive  appearance,  was  so  far  consecrated  by  tradi- 
tion that  it  was  later  transferred  to  the  cella  of  the  Par- 
thenon, together  with  the  measurement  from  which  its 
name  was  derived.  This  measurement  of  one  hundred 
Attic  feet  is  approximately  the  length  of  the  temple 
before  the  peristyle  wras  added,  and  so  the  name  must 
have  been  given  to  it  in  its  earliest  state.  The  inscrip- 
tion which  records  the  name  dates  from  a  time  shortly 
before  the  Persian  wars ;  it  is  also  valuable  as  giving 
some  indication  of  the  use  of  the  peculiar  arrangements 
in  the  plan  of  the  temple.  It  is  ordered  that  the  state 
treasurers  are  to  open  the  chambers  (ot/cr^ara)  in  the 
Hecatompedon;  and  this  may  imply  that  the  western 
compartment  of  the  temple,  together  with  the  chambers 
opening  out  of  it,  were  used  as  a  treasury.  The  indica- 
tion is  chiefly  important  for  the  later  history  of  the  tem- 
ple, and  for  its  relation  to  the  other  buildings  —  the 
Parthenon  and  the  Erechtheum  —  that  superseded  it 
either  wholly  or  in  part.  For  a  theory  has  been  main- 
tained by  Professor  Dorpfeld,  that  these  chambers  not 
only  were  a  treasury  in  early  times,  but  were  rebuilt  after 
their  destruction  by  the  Persians,  and  served  as  a  treas- 
ury in  later  times  also;  while  Professor  Furtwangler 
believes  thai  they  were  not  originally  built  as  treasuries, 
but  that  the  peculiar  division  of  the  western  part  of  the 


THK   ACROPOLIS   BEFORE   THE    PERSIAN    WARS       81 

early  temple'  served  the  same  purposes  of  religious  ritual 
as  were  served  by  the  similar  division  of  the  later  Erei  h- 
theum.  So  far  as  the  time  before  the  Persian  wars  is 
concerned,  there  is  hardly  enough  evidence  to  decide 
this  controversy. 

As  to  the  appearance  of  the  Mycenaean  palace  on  the 
Acropolis,  we  can  only  judge  from  the  similar  buildings 
that  have  been  found  at  Mycenae,  Tiryns,  and  else- 
where ;  nor  have  we  much  more  evidence  as  to  the 
architectural  features  of  the  early  temple  in  the  first  stage 
of  its  existence.  There  are  indeed  many  remains  of 
architecture  and  of  sculpture  of  an  early  date  that  have 
been  found  on  the  Acropolis ;  but  it  is  not  easy  to 
identify  any  of  them  with  certainty  as  belonging  to  this 
temple,  nor  indeed  is  it  very  probable  that  any  of  them 
do  belong  to  it ;  for  almost  all  its  architectural  features 
must  have  been  destroyed  when  the  peristyle  was  added, 
probably  fifty  years  or  so  before  the  fragments  found 
on  the  Acropolis  were  buried. 

The  appearance  of  the  temple  after  the  peristyle 
had  been  added  by  Pisistratus  may  be  realised  with  a 
fair  degree  of  certainty,  considering  that  it  has  been 
destroyed  to  the  foundations.  For  the  capitals  and 
drums  of  columns,  and  the  portions  of  architrave,  frieze, 
and  cornice  built  into  the  northern  wall  of  the  Acropolis 
have  been  identified  by  Professor  Dbrpfeld  as  belonging 
to  this  building,  and  by  their  help  he  has  made  a  resto- 
ration which  may  claim  to  be  more  than  conjectural. 
Some    figures  from  its  pediments  have  been  recovered 


82  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

and  pieced  together,  and  may  now  be  seen  in  the 
Acropolis  Museum.  The  colonnade  was  of  the  Doric 
order,  with  six  columns  at  each  end  and  twelve  on  each 
side  ;  the  form  of  the  capitals  is  such  as  one  would  expect 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  sixth  century,  being  intermedi- 
ate between  the  bulging,  rather  clumsy  shape  of  an 
earlier  period  and  the  refined  profile  of  the  fifth  century. 
We  must,  of  course,  imagine  the  rough  Piraic  lime- 
stone of  which  the  building  consists  as  covered  with 
stucco,  and  all  its  mouldings  enlivened  by  brilliant 
colours,  mostly  blue  or  red ;  the  metopes  and  cornice 
were  of  Parian  marble ;  and  this  more  precious  material 
was  not  hidden  by  a  complete  coat  of  colour,  though 
the  decorative  patterns  or  other  designs  painted  on  it 
enhanced  the  beauty  of  its  texture.  The  metopes 
probably  contained  mythological  scenes,  though  no  trace 
of  their  paintings  has  survived  ;  but  the  pediments 
were  filled  with  sculpture  in  the  round  in  Parian 
marble,  and  of  these  several  figures  have  been  recovered. 
The  subject  of  one  of  these  pediments  was  the 
battle  of  the  Gods  and  Giants  —  a  favourite  subject 
for  such  composition  in  early  times.  Scenes  from 
a  similar  combat  had  already  figured  in  some  of  the 
early  pedimental  groups  in  Piraic  limestone  that  were 
found  on  the  Acropolis  —  notably  the  one  which  con- 
tained the  three-bodied  Typhon  and  his  mate,  l^chidna. 
In  groups  of  the  gigantomachy  Athena  is  usually  a  promi- 
nent figure,  but  the  place  of  honour,  in  the  front  of  the 
combatants,  or,  by  an  easily  understood  convention,  in  the 


THE   ACROPOLIS    BEFORE   THE    PERSIAN    WARS       83 

centre  of  a  pediment,  is  usually  occupied  by  Zeus.  It 
was  a  bold  innovation,  and  characteristic  of  bis  age  and 
place,  for  the  Athenian  artist  to  give  this  place  cf  honour 
to  Athena  herself;  and  the  fact  is  symbolical  of  the 
history  of  Athenian  religion.  In  the  age  of  Pisis- 
tratus  there  was  a  tendency  throughout  Greece  to 
organise  local  cults  and  festivals  and  myths  into  a 
Panhellenic  system ;  and  at  Athens  this  tendency 
was  associated  with  a  more  or  less  conscious  attempt 
to  glorify  the  goddess  of  the  city  and  her  worship, 
and  to  give  her  the  most  prominent  place  in  the 
Greek  pantheon.  Of  course  she  was  usually  repre- 
sented as  occupying  this  position  as  the  vice-regent  of 
her  father  Zeus ;  but  in  this  pediment  she  actually 
seems  to  usurp  his  place.  The  extant  fragments 
have  not  as  yet  sufficed  for  the  reconstruction  of  any 
other  of  the  divine  combatants ;  but  of  their  opponents, 
the  giants,  two  other  prostrate  figures  have  been  put 
together,  in  addition  to  the  one  who  lies  at  the  feet 
of  Athena. 

Though  this  early  temple  of  Athena  was  doubtless 
the  chief  temple  on  the  Acropolis  before  the  Persian 
wars,  it  cannot  be  supposed  that  there  were  no  others. 
It  is,  as  we  have  seen,  a  doubtful  matter  whether  there 
was  another  early  temple  on  the  site  later  occupied  by 
the  Erechtheum  ;  certainly  no  clear  traces  of  any  such 
temple  remain;  nor  are  there  any  early  walls  or  foun- 
dations elsewhere  on  the  Acropolis  that  indicate  the 
position    of    any   other  shrines.     The   absence    of    such 


84  ANCIENT  ATHENS 

evidence  is  the  more  remarkable,  since  it  is  known  that 
some  of  the  sites  on  the  Acropolis  were  sacred  from 
immemorial  tradition.  Yet,  even  in  a  precinct  of  such 
ancient  sanctity  as  that  of  Artemis  Brauronia,  no  traces 
of  a  temple  have  been  found,  though  the  rock  is,  over 
most  of  its  surface,  exposed.  We  must  suppose  either 
that  such  temples  as  existed  were  so  roughly  built  that 
the  rock  was  not  levelled  for  their  foundations,  or  else 
that  there  were  merely  open  precincts  or  altars,  but  no 
temples,  in  these  primitive  shrines.  On  the  highest 
part  of  the  Acropolis  there  remains  a  considerable  ex- 
tent of  rock  in  its  natural  state,  surrounded  by  levelled 
spaces ;  on  one  side  this  rough  platform  is  bordered  by 
an  early  piece  of  wall,  on  other  sides  it  is  scarped  and 
faced  by  a  later  wall.  It  has  been  conjectured  with 
probability  that  this  rough  piece  of  rock  served  as  the 
great  altar  of  Athena,  at  which  the  hecatombs  were 
offered  annually  at  the  Panathenaic  festival.  There  is 
little  else,  either  in  the  way  of  walls  or  of  rock  cuttings, 
that  can  be  assigned  with  certainty  to  this  early  period, 
if  we  except  certain  cisterns,  drains,  and  foundations  of 
chambers  near  the  north-west  corner  of  the  Acropolis, 
beside  the  Propylaja.  This  absence  of  foundations  is 
the  more  remarkable,  since  the  foundations  of  the  fifth- 
century  buildings,  and  the  earth  used  to  terrace  up  the 
Acropolis  after  the  Persian  wars,  are  full  of  fragments 
of  architecture  and  sculpture  that  must  have  come  from 
temples  of  the  sixth  century.  Souk-  of  these  fragments 
may  have  been  brought  from  elsewhere  to  help  in  filling 


THE   ACROPOLIS   BEFORE   THE   PERSIAN    WARS       85 

up  the  terrace,  just  as  in  later  days  a  certain  number  of 
tombstones,  which  could  not  originally  have  been  set 
up  on  the  Acropolis,  were  carried  up  there,  mostly  for 
building  purposes.  But  it  can  hardly  be  doubted  that 
the  majority  of  the  early  fragments  belonged  to  the 
temples  that  stood  on  the  Acropolis  in  the  sixth  century, 


Great  Altar  of  Rock  on  the  Left.    On  the  Right,  North-east  Corner 

of  Parthenon. 

and  were  destroyed  by  the  Persians  when  they  sacked 
the  city  in  480  B.C.;  for  the  sculptured  compositions 
recovered  from  them  are  in  many  cases  nearly  complete, 
far  more  so  than  would  have  been  at  all  probable  if 
they  had  formed  part  of  a  miscellaneous  mass  of  rubble 
brought  up  from  below. 

The  early  history  of  Attic  art,  as  recorded  by  these 


86  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

products  of  recent  excavation  on  the  Acropolis,  is 
considered  in  another  chapter;  here  we  are  more 
concerned  to  notice  the  character  of  the  buildings  from 
which  they  came,  so  far  as  it  affected  the  general 
appearance  of  the  Acropolis  in  the  sixth  century. 
Most  of  the  buildings  must  have  been  small  shrines  or 
temples,  built  of  rough  Piraic  limestone  and  coated 
with  stucco ;  the  sculptures  were  mostly  of  the  same 
material ;  nearly  all  of  them  come  from  pedimental 
groups  in  higher  or  lower  relief.  It  is  a  curious  fact 
that  almost  all  of  them  represent  exploits  of  Heracles: 
one  shows  his  fight  with  the  Lerna^an  Hydra ;  two 
others  his  wrestling  with  the  Old  Man  of  the  Sea,  a 
favourite  subject  in  early  art,  though  not  recognised  as 
one  of  the  canonical  "  Twelve  Labours."  In  another 
pediment,  which  shows  in  one  of  its  ends  Echidna,  in 
the  other  the  three-bodied  Typhon,  we  have  a  scene 
which,  though  not  properly  belonging  to  the  gigantoma- 
chy,  is  closely  akin  to  it.  And  in  representations  of 
gigantomachy,  Heracles  always  takes  his  place  among 
the  gods;  it  is  therefore  probable  that  he  appeared  also 
on  the  pediment  over  the  colonnade  built  by  Pisistratus 
round  the  early  temple  of  Athena.  This  prominence  of 
Heracles  in  early  monuments  at  Athens  came  as  a  sur- 
prise to  archaeologists;  we  had  been  used  to  think  of 
the  hero  as  especially  Doric,  and  in  the  later  democracy 
his  place  was  almost  usurped  by  Theseus.  But  we  must 
remember  that  I  Ieracles  is  said  to  have  been  regarded  as 
a  god  by  the  earl)'  Athenians,  and  that  he  had  an  impor- 


THE   ACROPOLIS    BEFORE   THE    PERSIAN    WARS       87 

tant  early  temple  in  the  quarter  Melite.  His  presence 
in  the  groups  ornamenting  so  many  of  the  early  shrines 
of  Athens  need  not  of  course  imply  that  all  or  even  any 
of  them  were  dedicated  to  him  ;  but  it  certainly  does 
show  that  he  and  his  deeds  must  have  loomed  much 
larger  in  early  Athenian  mythology  than  we  should 
have  guessed  from  literary  sources  of  information. 
The  same  inference  may  be  drawn  from  the  frequency 
with  which  he  occurs  on  early  Attic  vases. 

Among  these  smaller  shrines  the  great  temple  of 
Athena  must  have  stood  out  conspicuously  even  in  its 
earlier  state  ;  when  it  was  surrounded  by  a  colonnade  and 
adorned  with  marble  pediments,  in  the  time  of  Pisistra- 
tus,  it  must  have  altogether  eclipsed  its  surroundings, 
and  have  offered  some  promise  of  the  splendour  that 
was  to  supersede  it  in  the  next  century.  Such  was  the 
general  appearance  of  the  Acropolis  when  it  was  taken 
and  burnt  by  the  Persians;  and  the  destruction  of  all 
these  early  temples,  greater  and  smaller  alike,  was  not 
only  a  gain  to  archaeology,  but  even  contributed  in  no 
small  decree  to  the  actual  advance  of  Attic  art.  Had 
all  these  structures  survived  into  the  age  of  Pericles, 
religious  conservatism  might  well  have  opposed  their 
destruction,  even  for  such  temples  as  the  Parthenon  and 
the  Erechtheum  to  rise  above  their  ruins. 


CHAPTER    IV 

THE   TOWN  BEFORE   THE  PERSIAN   J  TARS 

We  have  already  noticed  the  hill  of  the  Pnyx  and 
the  Acropolis  as  centres  of  early  settlements  at  Athens  ; 
but  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  Acropolis,  at  least,  soon 
became  a  sacred  citadel,  suitable  perhaps  for  the 
residence  of  a  primitive  king  and  his  retainers,  but 
incapable  of  housing  any  large  body  .of  citizens.  With 
the  growth  of  political  feeling,  the  centre  of  civic 
life  was  transferred  to  the  agora,  and  the  dwellings 
of  the  people  must  have  clustered  round  it,  though, 
until  the  lower  town  was  provided  with  a  wall  of 
defence,  the  inhabitants  must  still  have  taken  refuge 
in  the  Acropolis  during  times  of  danger.  Thucydides 
says  that  in  this  early  time  the  city  consisted  of  the 
Acropolis  and  the  region  to  the  south  of  it ;  that  is  to 
say,  the  more  or  less  level  space  that  lies  in  front  of 
the  two  theatres,  and  stretches  toward  the  valley  of 
the  Ilissus.  This  statement,  though  accepted  by 
Curtius  and  other  topographers,  and  made  the  basis 
of  their  reconstruction  of  the  early  town  of  Athens, 
has  met  with  much  criticism,  especially  since  it  dues 
not  tally  with  the  results  of  recent  excavations.  Thu- 
cydides  himself  seems  to  regard  it  as  a  necessary  infer- 

88 


THE   TOWN    BEFORE  THE    PERSIAN    WARS  89 

ence  from  the  position  of  certain  early  temples,  but  the 
whole  passage  has  been  the  subject  of  controversy  ; 
and  it  therefore  seems  better  to  relegate  its  discussion 
till  later,'  rather  than  to  take  it  as  the  starting-point 
for  a  description  of  the  lower  town.  Perhaps  it  is  too 
much  to  hope  that  we  can  attain  any  certain  knowledge 
of  the  topography  of  the  lower  town  before  the  great 
change  associated  with  the  name  of  Theseus,  and  cele- 
brated in  the  festival  of  the  Syncecia.  Before  that 
change,  Athens  was  presumably  only  one  of  several 
small  townships  in  Attica.  The  recognition  of  Athens 
as  the  city,  and  the  concentration  there  of  all  political 
and  religious  organisation,  must  have  led  to  a  con- 
siderable  increase  in  the  sacred  and  public  buildings, 
and  even  in  the  town  itself,  though  it  is  not,  of  course, 
to  be  supposed  that  either  then  or  later,  until  the  time 
of  the  Peloponnesian  War,  the  majority  of  the  popu- 
lation of  Attica  flocked  to  Athens.  We  cannot  identify 
with  certainty  any  of  the  monuments  of  the  lower  town 
as  belonging  to  the  time  before  the  Syncecism  ;  and  a 
topographical  order  is  the  only  one  which  it  is  practical 
to  follow  in  tracing  the  architectural  history  of  the  town 
of  Athens  before  the  Persian  Wars. 

The  Acropolis  was  surrounded  in  early  times  by 
various  districts,'2  each  of  which  probably  had  a  sepa- 
rate village  settlement  of  its  own ;  the  names  of  some 

1  See  note  IV.  a.  at  the  end  of  the  chapter. 

2  In  the  placing  of  the  city  denies  I  have  followed  Curtius,  who  gives  the  view 
generally  accepted,  though  by  no  means  free  from  dispute.  In  most  cases  there 
really  is  not  enough  definite  evidence  to  lead  to  a  certain  decision. 


9o  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

of  these  early  villages  are  preserved  in  the  later  names 
of  the  city  demes.  In  front  of  the  western  ^ate  of 
the  Acropolis  lies  the  valley  between  it  and  the  Pnyx 
hill ;  and  this  is  connected  by  the  low  saddle  between 
Pnyx  and  Areopagus  with  the  broad  stretch  of  level 
ground  which  reaches  to  the  Theseum.  This  region 
belonged  in  later  times  to  the  deme  Melite ;  the  name 
has  a  Phoenician  look,  which  has  naturally  been  empha- 
sised by  those  who,  like  Curtius,  believe  in  a  Phoeni- 
cian settlement  and  Phoenician  influence  in  early 
Athens ;  but  it  must  be  admitted  that  recent  investiga- 
tions have  lent  little  or  no  support  to  this  theory; 
and  the  name  Melite  itself  may  just  as  well  be  derived 
from  the  honey  for  which  the  neighbouring  mountain 
of  Hymettus  was  famous  in  classical  times  ;  the  wild 
thyme  that  still  gives  this  honey  its  characteristic 
flavour  grows  just  as  freely  on  all  the  Attic  hills.  To 
the  north  and  north-west  of  the  Theseum  lay  the  lowest 
ground  around  Athens,  with  the  rich  deposit  of  red 
clay  that  gave  it  the  name  of  "  the  Potters'  Field  " 
(Ceramicus),  and  that  was  later  to  make  Attic  pottery 
the  most  famous  in  the  world  for  the  beauty  of  its 
material  as  well  as  the  skill  of  its  manufacture.  The 
dome  of  Collytos,  stretching  from  the  north  side  of 
the  Acropolis  right  up  to  the  slope  of  Lycabettus, 
probably  represents  another  early  village,  which  re- 
tained into  historical  times  some  of  its  old  local  festivals, 
such   as  the   Country     Dionysia,1     though     it    contained 

1  lv  rots  /car    0.7/301)5  AwvihtIois  Koo/xwduiv  6vtwv  lv  KoWutQ. —  /Kseliin.    I.   157. 


THE   TOWN    BEFORE   THE    PERSIAN    WARS  91 

the  most  populous  and  fashionable  part  of  the  city; 
but  in  ancient  times  the  houses  never  spread  so  far  in 
this  direction  as  they  have  in  modern  times;  the  old 
town  always  surrounded  the  Acropolis,  instead  of 
reaching  away,  as  the  modern  town  does,  into  the  plain 
to  the  north.  Between  the  Acropolis  and  the  Ilissus, 
on  the  south-east,  is  the  region  which  Thucydides  and 


Lycabettus  from  the  Acropolis. 
Pentelicus  behind. 


Professor  Curtius  believed  to  have  been  the  earliest 
centre  of  civic  life.  In  confirmation  of  this  opinion 
is  the  probable  situation  in  this  locality  of  the  deme 
Kv Sadrjvouov ;  beyond  the  Ilissus  lies  the  suburb  of  Agra?, 
famous  for  the  celebration  of  the  Lesser  Mysteries ;  and 
to  the  west,  in  the  hollow  to  the  south-west  of  the  Pnyx 
and  sloping  away  to  the  sea,  is  the  region  of  KotA.17.  A 
brief  study  of  the  actual  remains  of  early  date  that  may 


92  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

still  be  seen  in  these  various  districts  must  precede  any 
attempt  to  reconstruct  the  early  town. 

There  are  traces  of  a  certain  number  of  early  shrines 
nestling  close  under  the  rock  of  the  Acropolis,  or  situ- 
ated in  natural  caves  beneath  it.  Just  to  the  north  of 
the  western  entrance  is  the  Clepsydra,  which  we  have 
already  noticed  both  in  considering  the  walls 1  and  the 
water  supply.-  The  precipitous  cliffs  that  lie  to  the 
north-east  of  this  point  were  known  as  the  Maxpcd  or 
Long  Rocks,  and  contained  two  caves,  dedicated  to 
the  worship  of  Apollo  and  of  Pan.  That  of  Apollo  is 
celebrated  in  Euripides'  Ion  as  the  place  where  Apollo 
met  Creusa,  and  where  she  later  exposed  the  child  that 
she  bore  to  the  god ;  the  cave  of  Pan  was  first  dedicated 
to  him  after  the  battle  of  Marathon,  in  consequence  of 
his  apparition  to  the  runner  Phidippides  on  Mt.  Arte- 
misium,  and  the  "  Panic  "  terror  that  he  cast  over  the 
Persian  army.  An  altar  of  Pan  is  also  mentioned  by 
Euripides.  Some  doubt  existed  as  to  the  exact  position 
of  these  caves  until  recently,  chiefly  because  the  whole 
region  was  deeply  buried  beneath  the  rubbish  shot  from 
the  Acropolis  during  the  earlier  excavations,  but  this 
was  cleared  away  by  M.  Cavvadias  in  1897  with  the  most 
satisfactory  results.8 

Immediately  above  the    Clepsydra   is  a  shallow  cave, 
which  used  to  be   identified   as   the  cave  of  Apollo;  but 
it  contains  no  votive  niches  or  other  indications  of  dedi- 
cation, is  extremely  difficult  of  access,  and  must  always 
1  Sec  p.  61.  -  Sec  pp.  23-24.  ;!  See  'lv/;.  'Apx-  1897. 


THE  TOWN    BEFORE   THE    PERSIAN    WARS 


93 


have  been  open  and  visible,  so  as  to  be  unsuitable  for 
the  tale  told  of  the  cave  of  Apollo.     This  may,  then,  be 
dismissed    from  consideration.     A   little    farther  to  the 
east,  separated  from  this  cave  by  a  projecting  buttress 
of  rock,  is  a  roughly 
levelled    platform   of 
rock,  on   which  sev- 
eral caves  open.  The 
first  of  these,  count- 
ing   from    the    west, 
is   a    shallow   recess 
in     the     rock,    filled 
with  niches   to  hold 
inscribed    tablets    or 
other       dedications, 
and    similar    niches 
are   also    to  be  seen 
on  the  face  of    rock 
to    the    east  of    this 
cave.     In  the  debris 
outside    were   found 
several    inscriptions   or   portions    of    inscriptions,    all  of 
them    dedications    of    Roman    period    to   Apollo   'Trrod- 
Kpouos,  vtto  "A/cpat?,  or    vtto    Ma/cpcus ; 1    these    were    on 
tablets  which  have  evidently  been  fixed   in   the  niches 
prepared  in  the  rock.     At  the  back  of  the  rock  platform 
is  a  second    cave,  a  little  deeper,  and  extending  partly 


Cave  of  Apollo. 
With  niches  for  votive  tablets. 


1  It  is  singular  that  nearly  all  the  tablets  found  in  the  recent  excavations  have 
V7r6  Ma.Kpa.ls,  which  did  not  occur  in  those  found  earlier. 


94 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


underneath  the  wall  of  the  Acropolis,  but  quite  open ; 
this  cave  has  no  signs  of  dedication  about  it.  The 
projecting  mass  that  bounds  the  platform  on  the  east 
is  pierced  by  two  caves,  of  a  different  character  from 
those  we  have  hitherto  noticed ;  they  penetrate  deeper 
into  the  hill,  and  have  narrow  entrances  partly  blocked 
by  natural   pillars  of  rock,  so  that  they  offer  complete 

seclusion,  though 
but  narrow  space 
within.  Such  caves 
as  this  are  obviously 
more  adapted  to  the 
tale  of  Apollo  and 
Creusa,  which  must 
be  located  in  the 
cave  of  Apollo  ;  and 
the  cave  of  Pan  must 
have  been  of  a  simi- 
lar character,  since 
Aristophanes  '  men- 
tions it  as  a  place 
where  seclusion  and 
privacy  could  be 
found.  And,  moreover,  such  a  cave  suits  the  notion, 
common  to  literature  and  art,  of  Pan  scaled  in  his  hole, 
and  piping  to  the  nymphs  who  dance  before  him.  There 
can  be  little  doubt,  then,  that  we  must  recognise  in  this 
hollow    rock    the    Wavos  6a.KTJij.aTa  koll  Trapavki^ovaa  nerpa 

1  I  ,ysistr.  91 1. 


(  Iave  of  Pan. 


THK   TOWN    BEFORE   THE    PERSIAN    WARS  95 

/u-v^wSecrt  Ma/cpcu?.  M.  Cavvadias  suggests  that  this 
cave  of  Pan  was  identical  with  the  earlier  cave  of 
Apollo,  and  that  it  was  assigned  to  Pan  after  the 
worship  of  Apollo  had  been  transferred  to  the  open 
cave  with  the  niches ;  perhaps  it  is  more  probable 
that  one  of  the  two  communicating  caves  to  the 
east  of  the  platform  was  sacred  to  Apollo,  one  to 
Pan ;  in  any  case  they  suited  legend  better  than 
ritual;  dedications  and  sacrifices  took  place  in  the 
open  recesses  of  the  Maxjoat,  where  the  foundations  of 
an  altar  have  actually  been  found.  There  is  also  a 
pit  which  M.  Cavvadias  proposes  to  identify  as  the 
tomb  of  Erechtheus,  but  any  such  identification  must 
be  regarded  as  highly  conjectural ;  the  only  evidence 
that  the  tomb  of  Erechtheus  in  a  ^acr/xa  \0cw6g  was 
close  to  the  Maxpai  is  in  the  same  passage  of  the  Ion 
already  quoted,  which  is  far  from  being  convincing.1 

However  this  may  be,  the  associations  of  the  shrine  of 
Apollo  are  most  interesting,  not  only  from  its  place  in 
Attic  ritual  and  mythology,  but  also  because  it  has  been 
quoted  as  evidence  in  one  of  the  most  difficult  and  con- 
troversial problemsin  Athenian  topography.  The  worship 
of  Apollo  Patrous,  as  the  father  of  Ion  and  so  the  com- 
mon ancestor  of  the  whole  Ionian  race,  belonged  especially 
to  the  spot.  The  great  national  festival  of  the  Ionic 
race,  in  which  the  Athenians  were  officially  represented, 

1  After  mentioning  the  tomb  of  Erechtheus,  Ion  adds,  ~S\aKpal  5t  x^pb*  t<*T'  ^*« 
K€K\r}/x^vos;  'E/cet  here  may  mean  merely  "at  Athens,"  and  if  so,  the  evidence  tor  the 
tomb  of  Erechtheus  near  the  yianpai  disappears. 


96  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

and  later  took  the  predominant  part,  was  held  at  Delos ; 
and  so  we  might  naturally  have  expected  that  the  Delian 
Apollo  would  be  especially  associated  with  the  birth- 
place of  his  son  Ion.  This,  however,  is  not  the  case. 
The  Apollo  Patrous  who  is  especially  worshipped  at 
Athens  is  always,  in  historical  times,  the  Pythian 
Apollo  ;  Demosthenes  expressly  says  that  the  Pythian 
Apollo  is  Patrous  to  the  Athenians;  and  Theophrastus' 
Fussy  Man  (Mt/c/Do^tXoVt/xo?)  takes  his  boy  to  Delphi  to 
make  the  due  offering  to  Apollo  Patrous  when  he  is 
grown  up.  Of  the  MaKpal  and  their  shrines  Ion  says 
expressly  Ti//,a  cr(f>e  ITu^io?  acrTpaTrai  re  IIi/#icu,  and  it  is 
difficult  to  explain  the  last  half  of  this  line  except  as  a 
reference  to  the  altar  of  Zeus  'Acrr/mTrouo?,  from  which 
at  certain  seasons  men  watched  for  the  lightning  over 
Harma,  in  the  direction  of  Delphi,  in  order  to  give  the 
signal  for  the  despatch  of  the  sacred  embassy  from 
Athens  to  the  Pythian  sanctuary.  Whether  the  Pythian 
connection  of  the  cult  of  Apollo  beneath  the  Long 
Rocks  was  original  or  not  we  have  no  certain  evidence  ; 
it  may  be  tempting  to  refer  it  to  the  religious  reforms 
of  Epimenides  or  to  the  influence  of  the  Alcmaeonidae 
at  Delphi  ;  but  any  such  theory  must  be  regarded  as  a 
mere  conjecture,  and  cannot  be  made  the  basis  for 
any  further  inferences.  In  the  time  of  Pisistratus,  as 
we  shall  see,  the  cult  of  the  Pythian  Apollo  was  officially 
established  in  the  Pythium  near  the  Ilissus.1 

1  Whethei  this  shrine  "i  Apollo  inr"1  Aicpats  was  ever  called  Pythium  is  a  difficult 
question,  discussed  in  the  oote  al  the  end  <>l  ibis  chapter,  p.  145. 


THE  TOWN   BEFORE   THE   PERSIAN   WARS 


97 


To  the  west  of  the  caves  of  Apollo  and  of  Pan  is  a 
projecting  corner  of  the  Acropolis  cliff,  containing  in 
its  western  face  the  entrance  of  the  long  cleft  which 
communicates  with  the  top  of  the  enclosure  within 
the  walls.  This  cleft  has  already  been  noticed  as  the 
probable  route  of  the  Persians  in  their  escalade  of  the 
Acropolis.1  Above  its  western  entrance  is  a  flight  of 
steps,  of  which  the  lower  end  is  now  walled  up  just 
within  the  Acropolis  wall.  The  sanctuary  of  Agraulos 
is  in  the  northern  face  of  the  rock,  just  beyond  the 
projecting  corner;  it  is  identified  from  the  statements 
of  Herodotus  and  Pausanias  that  it  was  close  to  the 
place  where  the  Persians  mounted.  Probably  the 
cave  that  is  visible  at  this  point  belonged  to  the 
shrine.  It  was  here 
that  the  young 
men  of  Athens 
took  their  oath  on 
being  admitted  to 
the  ranks  of  the 
Ephebi,  and  close 
to  it  was  the  An- 
akeion  or  temple 
of  the  Dioscuri. 
Farther  along  are 
more  recesses  and  niches  cut  in  the  rock,  but  there  is 
nothing  more  on  the  northern  or  eastern  face  of  the 
Acropolis  that  offers  any  topographical  indications.    The 


Pit  of  Sacrifice  in  Asclepieu.m. 
Temple  behind. 


1  See  Chapter  II.  p.  47. 


98  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

aspect  of  the  eastern  end  of  the  southern  side  of  the 
rock  has  been  completely  transformed  since  the  time  of 
the  Persian  Wars  by  the  curved  scarping  for  the  upper 
part  of  the  Great  Theatre.  The  Asclepieum  to  the 
west  of  this  is  also  an  institution  of  later  date,  but  it 
probably  took  the  place  of  an  earlier  sacred  spring 
which  had  its  own  traditions,  and  probably  its  own 
shrine  of  healing  before  the  worship  of  Asclepius  was 
introduced  into  Athens.  With  it  must  probably  be  asso- 
ciated an  early  pit  of  sacrifice  with  polygonal  masonry. 
Beside  the  spring  it  was  said  that  Halirrhothius,  the 
son  of  Poseidon,  had  done  violence  to  Alcippe,  daughter 
of  Ares ;  and  Ares,  having  slain  Halirrhothius,  stood 
his  trial  on  the  Areopagus.  Several  remains  of  enclos- 
ures, of  a  period  before  the  Persian  Wars,  seem  to 
show  that  there  was  a  sacred  precinct  in  this  region. 
A  little  farther  along  is  a  cistern  of  fine  polygonal 
masonry  and  remains  of  early  walls ;  but  the  western 
end  of  the  south  side  of  the  Acropolis  is  as  com- 
pletely altered  by  the  Stoa  of  Eumenes  and  the  Odeum 
of  H erodes  as  the  eastern  end  is  by  the  Theatre  of 
Dionysus,  and  so  it  is  useless  to  look  for  any  early 
buildings   in   this  region. 

The  bold  mass  of  rock  that  forms  the  Areopagus 
stands  up  on  the  right  as  one  descends  from  the 
Acropolis,  and  rises  in  a  steep  cliff;  on  the  farther 
side  it  slopes  gently  toward  the  Pnyx.  That  its  exist- 
ence was  to  some  extent  a  menace  to  the  Acropolis 
as  a  fortress  is  recognised   in   the   tale  of   the   Amazons, 


THE   TOWN    BEFORE   THE    PERSIAN    WARS  99 

who  established  themselves  here  when  they  attacked 
Theseus ;  but  the  word  avrenvp-yojerap,  used  by  /Eschy- 
lus  in  this  context,  is  not  probably  to  be  taken  as  re- 
ferring to  any  traces  or  tradition  of  a  fortification  of 
the  Areopagus  ;  its  natural  strength  suffices,  especially 
on  the  side  toward  the  Acropolis,  which  is  inaccessible 
but  for  a  narrow  flight  of  steps  cut  in  the  rock.    Herodo- 


POLYGONAL   WALLS   OK   ClSTERN. 
Near  Asclepieum. 

tus  tells  us  that  it  was  also  occupied  by  the  Persians 
when  attacking  the  defenders  of  the  Acropolis.  The 
chief  interest  of  the  hill  is,  however,  religious  rather 
than  military.  There  are  various  traditions  about  the 
origin  of  the  name,  which  ancient  authors  all  associ- 
ate with  the  name  of  Ares.  The  commonest  version 
states  that  Ares  was  tried  there  after  the  murder  of 
Halirrhothius ;  /Eschylus  rejects  this  version  and  pre- 
serves the  solemnity  of  the  trial  of  Orestes  as  the  proto- 


ioo  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

type  of  all  murder  trials  by  saying  that  the  Amazons 
sacrificed  to  Ares,  and  so  the  name  arose.  There  was 
a  temple  of  Ares  situated  near  it,  probably  near  its  north- 
ern slope.  It  also  contained  an  altar  of  Athena  Areia, 
said  to  have  been  dedicated  by  Orestes ;  and  there  seems 
no  sufficient  reason  for  giving  up  the  traditional  inter- 
pretation, Mars'  Hill,  and  substituting,  as  is  suggested 
by  some  modern  mythologists,  Hill  of  Curses  fApcu).1 
The  top  of  the  hill  was  in  early  times  the  seat  of  the 
famous  Court  of  Areopagus,  but  little  is  left  to  show 
the  arrangements.  There  is  a  roughly  levelled  platform 
and  some  cuttings  in  the  rock ;  but  it  is  impossible  to 
identify  with  certainty  even  the  Stone  of  Violence 
or  the  Stone  of  Ruthlessness  (\i#og  r/T/3pe<x><?,  kiOos 
'A^atSeta?),  on  which  the  accused  and  the  accuser  took 
their  stand  at  a  trial  for  manslaughter. 

At  the  end  toward  the  Acropolis  is  a  deep  cleft, 
between  the  hill  itself  and  a  high  piece  of  rock  that  has 
broken  off  from  it.  This  is  the  place  that  must  be 
identified  as  the  shrine  of  the  Holy  Ones,  the  ^e^at,  as 
the  Athenians  called  them,  where  they  took  up  their 
abode,  as  ^Eschylus  tells  in  the  Eumenides,  when 
Athena  had  appeased  their  wrath  at  the  homicide's 
escape.  It  may  be  doubted  whether  the  cleft  remains 
as  in  ancient  time,  or  the  piece  of  rock  has  fallen  since 
and  engulfed  the  altars  and  the  rest  of  the  sanctuary. 
Hut  in  any  case  we  may  probably  trace  a  connection 
such   as   that   insisted    upon   by    /Kschylus   between    the 

1  Sec  Frazer,  /'<nts.  II.  363. 


i  q 


THE   TOWN    BEFORE   THE    PERSIAN    WARS  103 

august  court  upon  the  hill,  which  claimed  to  be  the  first 
established  in  the  world  for  the  judgment  of  homicide, 
and  the  "wild  justice"  of  revenge  and  blood  feud  which 
it  superseded,  and  which  was  represented  by  the  Erinyes 
iii  the  cleft  below.  Close  by  the  shrine  of  the  Semnae 
was  the  Cylonion,  erected,  probably,  when  the  city  was 
purified  by  Epimenides,  on  the  spot  where  the  followers 
of  the  rash  pretender  had  been  massacred,  vainly  trusting 
in  the  rope  that  connected  them  with  their  sanctuary  in 
the  Old  Temple  of  Athena  on  the  Acropolis. 

After  the  Acropolis  itself,  the  most  conspicuous  monu- 
ment of  pre-Persian  Athens  is  the  Pnyx.  It  lies  just 
beyond  the  Areopagus,  and  appears  just  above  it 
in  the  view  from  the  Propylaea.  In  the  slope  of  the 
hill  facing  the  Acropolis  is  a  scarped  face  of  rock,  not 
straight,  but  consisting  of  two  equal  portions  meeting 
at  an  obtuse  angle  ;  and  where  they  meet  is  a  square 
block,  like  an  altar,  approached  by  steps,  all  cut  in  the 
living  rock.  Below  the  scarp  is  a  semicircular  area, 
retained  at  its  outer  edge  by  a  wall  of  huge  blocks,  partly 
squared,  partly  polygonal.  At  either  side,  where  the 
ends  of  this  semicircular  retaining  wall  abut  against  the 
face  of  rock,  they  are  considerably  higher  than  the  foot 
of  the  square  block ;  but  in  the  middle  several  of  the 
upper  courses  have  given  way,  and  consequently  the 
area  retained  by  the  wall  now  slopes  downward  from 
the  face  of  rock.  If,  however,  we  imagine  the  retaining 
wall  of  the  same  height  throughout  the  whole  semicircle, 
we  must  restore  the  area  which  it  contained  as  sloping 


io4 


ANCIENT  ATHENS 


down  from  the  circumference  toward  the  centre,  like  a 
rather  shallow  theatre.  Such  a  form  would  be  admirably 
adapted  for  a  place  of  popular  assembly,  and  there  can 
be  little  doubt  that  it  is  rightly  identified  as  the  Pnyx, 
though,  like  almost  all  other  matters  in  Athenian  topo- 
graphy, the  identification  has  been  disputed.      Curtius 


:2fe&> 


The  Pnyx,  from  the  Areopagus. 
Salamis  behind. 


sees  in  it  merely  a  place  of  sacrifice  with  a  rock-cut  altar 
in  the  midst,  and,  to  confirm  his  view,  quotes  certain 
dedications  to  Zeus  "Tt/uo-7-09  found  in  the  immediate 
neighbourhood.  But  in  that  case  the  massive  support- 
ing wall  would  be  superfluous;  no  one  is  likely  to  have 
taken  the  trouble  to  terrace  up  this  great  semicircular 
area  merely  to  accommodate  those  assisting  at  a  sacrifice. 


THE  TOWN    BEFORE   THE   PERSIAN    WARS  105 

It  seems  far  more  probable  that  this  structure  is  the 
Pnyx,  the  earliest  place  in  which  a  democratic  assem- 
bly of  citizens  was  ever  held.  It  would  be  interest- 
ing if  we  could  date  with  any  degree  of  precision  the 
time  when  it  was  made.  The  style  of  the  masonry  docs 
not  give  any  certain  clue;  the  great  size  of  the  blocks  at 


Bema  and  Rock-cut  Wall  of  Pnyx. 


first  sight  suggests  a  very  early  date ;  the  largest  blocks 
are  about  9  ft.  6  by  7  ft.  6  in  the  face,  and  6  feet  in 
depth.  But  this  massive  construction  was  necessitated 
by  the  weight  of  earth  which  the  wall  had  to  support ; 
the  beds  are  horizontal,  and  many  of  the  joints  are  verti- 
cal, and  the  general  nature  of  the  construction  suggests 
the  sixth  or  even  the  fifth  century  rather  than  any  pre- 
historic epoch ;  the  age  either  of  Solon  or  of  Clisthenes 


106  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

would  suit  well  enough,  and  so  great  a  work,  undertaken 
for  such  a  purpose,  must  most  naturally  be  associated 
with  some  chief  epoch  in  the  approach  to  democracy.  It 
may  well  be  that  the  scarped  rock  and  the  square  altar 
in  the  midst  of  it  go  back  to  an  earlier  age,  and  may 
even  have  served,  as  Curtius  suggests,  for  the  altar  of 
Zeus  "TijjLaToq.  There  is  nothing  repugnant  to  Greek 
notions  in  mounting  an  altar  to  address  the  crowd,  espe- 
cially when  we  remember  that  the  meeting  of  the 
Ecclesia  was  a  sacred  function,  inheriting  even  such 
primitive  regulations  as  the  necessity  for  dismissing  the 
people  if  a  drop  of  rain  fell.1  If  the  square  block  is  the 
famous  Bema  (6  \i$o<?  6  iu  rfj  ttvkvl,  as  Aristophanes  calls 
it2),  from  which  the  orators  of  Athens  addressed  the 
people,  it  is  impossible  to  give  a  literal  interpretation  to 
Plutarch's  statement3  that  the  Bema  had  originally  faced 
the  sea,  and  that  the  Thirty  Tyrants  turned  it  so  as  to 
face  the  land.  It  is,  however,  extremely  difficult  to 
explain  this  passage  in  any  case ;  for  the  orators  must 
have  faced  their  audience,  and  the  change  referred  to 
would  imply  a  reconstruction  of  the  whole  of  the  Pnyx. 
Most  probably  Plutarch  has  misunderstood  his  authority 
and  given  a  literal  meaning  to  what  was  originally  a 
purely  metaphorical  statement,  that  the  Thirty,  reverting 
to  the  tradition  of  the  earlier  tyrants,  turned  the  eyes  of 
the  leaders  of  Athenian  policy  away  from  the  sea,  of 
which  the  command  had  been  the  chief  object  of  the 
Athenian    democracy   since   the   days   of    Themistocles. 

1  At.  Ach.  169.  -  At.  Pax,  680.  '■'■  Themist.  19. 


THE   TOWN    BEFORE   THE    PERSIAN    WARS  107 

It  is  true  that  there  is  an  oblong  terrace  of  lev- 
elled rock  above  the  scarped  face,  which  would  hold  a 
considerable  number  of  people,  and  toward  which  an 
orator  on  the  Bema  would  look  if  he  faced  seaward  ; 
but  the  sea  could  never  have  been  visible  either  from 
the  Bema  or  from  the  levelled  area  near  it,  especially 
when  the  city  wall  was  standing  along  the  ridge  of  the 
hill;  Aristophanes'  line1  about  Cleon,  dno  tmv  Trerpaji- 
avoideu  tovs  (fiopovs  OvvvocrKOTrojv  cannot  refer  to  the 
actual  view  from  the  place  of  assembly,  though  the  hill 
just  above  it  would  make  an  excellent  post  of  observa- 
tion. In  another  passage  in  the  same  play2  the  sausage- 
seller  upbraids  Cleon  for  having  left  the  Demos  to  be 
content  with  a  hard  seat  on  the  rocks,  and  offers  a 
cushion  to  give  him  more  comfort.  If  pressed  in  its 
literal  signification,  this  expression  might  seem  to  imply 
rock-cut  seats ;  but  there  can  be  no  question  of  anything 
of  the  sort  if  the  Pnyx  is  rightly  identified ;  and  so  we 
must  probably  interpret  al  neTpou  as  applying  to  the 
whole  rocky  region  —  the  hill  from  which  Cleon  also 
looked  out  for  the  tribute  ships  —  rather  than  as  de- 
scribing the  actual  seats  themselves.  How  the  semi- 
circular area  was  seated  we  cannot  say;  but  the  passage 
in  Aristophanes  shows,  in  the  first  place,  that  the  people 
did  sit  down,  and  in  the  second  place,  that  they  can 
hardly  have  had  wooden  benches. 

The  valley  between  the  Acropolis,  the  Pnyx,  and  the 
Areopagus  is  much  better  known  to  us  than  any  other 

1  Eq.  312.  -  1.  783,  iirl  Taicri  Trtrpais  .  .  .  crKXypQs  <re  Kadrjixevov  o'vtws. 


108  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

district  of  early  Athens,  thanks  to  the  systematic  excava- 
tions that  have  been  made  there  by  Professor  Dorpfeld. 
The  main  object  of  these  excavations  was  to  settle,  if 
possible,  the  disputed  points  of  Athenian  topography 
that  depend  on  the  position  of  the  fountain  Enneacrunus. 
They  have,  as  was  hoped,  brought  to  light  a  most  in- 
teresting series  of  waterworks,  including  rock  cuttings 
to  collect  the  scanty  supply  of  spring  water  from  the 
hill  of  the  Pnyx,  many  wells  in  the  lower  and  more  level 
ground,  a  series  of  larger  and  smaller  drains,  of  various 
periods,  and,  above  all,  the  end  of  an  aqueduct  which 
must  be  assigned  to  the  time  of  Pisistratus.1  But,  in 
addition  to  all  this,  they  have  laid  bare  what  must  have 
been  one  of  the  most  thickly  populated  regions  of  the 
town,  with  its  streets,  houses,  sacred  precincts,  and 
temples. 

The  chief  road  found  in  these  excavations  leads 
through  the  depression  between  the  Pnyx  and  the  Are- 
opagus, and  extends  for  about  250  yards  in  a  southerly 
direction,  just  to  the  east  of  the  modern  road  and 
nearly  parallel  to  it.  Then  roads  branch  off  from  it  to 
the  south  and  west  ;  but  the  main  track  takes  a  broad 
sweep  to  the  east,  and  begins  to  mount  the  steep  ascent 
(if  the  Acropolis  almost  on  the  line  of  the  modern  zig- 
zag road,  after  sending  olf  another  branch  following  the 
line  of  the  modern  road  along  the  south  side  of  the 
Acropolis.  Just  opposite  the  gate  of  the  Acropolis  a 
'  >ot-path  branches  off,  leading  directly  up  the  hill,  and 

1  See  (  hapter  I.  Note  a,  Water  Supply. 


THE   TOWN    BEFORE    THE    PERSIAN    WARS 


109 


cutting  off  the  zigzags  of  the  road.  The  road  is 
bordered  on  both  sides  by  early  walls,  some  polygonal, 
some  built  of  more  or  less  squared  blocks.  Whether 
these  are  the  walls  of  houses  or  merely  enclosures  for 
precincts  or  other  open  spaces,  they  are  all  evidently  of 
early  date  in  their  lower  courses,  though  many  of  them 
form  the  foundations  for  a  superstructure  of  later  period. 
There  can  be  no  doubt,  then,  that  we  here  see  one  of 
the  chief  streets 
of  ancient  Athens 
during  all  periods 
of  its  history,  and 
the  main  approach 
to  the  Acropolis 
from  the  regions 
to  the  north  of 
the  Areopagus  — 
at  least  for  driv- 
ing ;  foot  passen- 
gers may  well 
have  preferred  the  shorter  route  between  the  Areopagus 
and  the  Acropolis.  To  our  notion,  the  street  seems 
very  narrow ;  its  average  width  must  have  been  the  same 
at  all  periods,  about  twelve  to  fifteen  feet,  and  may 
probably  be  taken  as  typical  of  such  parts  of  an  ancient 
city  as  had  not  been  laid  out  in  a  sumptuous  manner 
with  broad  streets  and  ample  spaces.  We  have  to 
remember  that  driving  or  riding  in  the  streets  of  the 
town  by  private  individuals  was  very  unusual,  probably 


Excavations  West  of  Acropolis. 

Looking  along  road.     Precinct  and  wine-press  on  left, 

houses  on  ri^ht. 


no  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

unknown  except  when  a  man  was  starting  on  a  journey. 
It  is  true  that  such  narrow  streets  offer  little  room  for 
the  passage  of  a  great  procession  such  as  that  of  the 
Panathenaea,  or  the  gallop  of  the  knights  from  the 
Hermae  in  the  Agora  to  the  Eleusinium.1  Spectacular 
effects  and  the  presence  of  any  considerable  number  of 
spectators  would  have  to  be  restricted  to  the  more  open 
parts  of  the  route,  if  this  road  was  the  one  along  which 
they  passed. 

In  the  angle  between  this  street  and  the  southern  side 
of  the  Areopagus  is  a  triangular  enclosure,  bordered  on 
one  side  by  the  main  street,  on  the  other  two  by  branch 
roads  that  communicate  with  the  street.  This  enclosure 
is  surrounded  by  an  early  wall,  and  was  clear  of  houses. 
In  the  apex  of  the  triangle,  which  faced  to  the  south,  was 
a  partition,  shutting  off  a  small  temple  which  was  prob- 
ably entered  from  the  south.  The  rest  of  the  triangle  was 
open,  but  for  an  altar  in  its  midst  and  a  wine-press  in  its 
north-western  corner,  both  of  which  deserve  careful  atten- 
tion. The  altar  was  of  the  shape  of  a  table,  carried  on  four 
legs,  for  which  the  sockets  can  still  be  seen  in  the  basis, 
which  is  the  only  portion  that  survives.  In  this  basis 
are  also  grooves  for  receiving  two  stelae.  The  wine- 
press  shows  traces  of  several  successive  reconstructions, 
with  its  floor  at  different  levels,  and  it  also  has  a  large 
vessel  sunk  into  the  ground  to  receive  the  must  as  it 
(lowed  from  the  treading  of  the  grapes.  The  wine-press 
and  the  peculiar  form  of  the  altar  suggest  that  the 
1  Xen.  Hipparch.  III.  2. 


THE   TOWN    BEFORE   THE   PERSIAN    WARS 


in 


temple  and  precinct  were  dedicated  to  Dionysus,  an 
inference  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  in  Roman  times, 
after  the  original  shrine  had  been  buried  and  forgotten, 
a  hall  was  built  over  part  of  its  site  for  the  sacred  feasts 
of  the  Iobacchi,  a  religious  club  that  may  have  preserved 
the  tradition  of  the  early  ritual.  A  precinct  that  oc- 
cupies a  central  position  in  a  populous  quarter  of  the 
city  challenges  identification ;  and  Professor  Dorpfeld 
confidently  claims 
that  he  has  found 
the  long -sought 
Dionysium  in  the 
Marshes,  which  he 
was  also  inclined 
to  identify  with 
the  Lenasum,  the 
"  place  of  the  wine- 
press," l  quoting 
the  wine-press  still 
to  be  seen  in  the 
corner  of  the  precinct.  He  has,  however,  seen  reason 
to  give  up  this  latter  identification,  tempting  as  it  is. 
The  Lenaeum  cannot  well  be  identical  with  the  Diony- 
sium in  the  Marshes,  which  was  open  only  on  one  day 
in  the  year,  in  the  month  of  Anthesterion ;  for  the 
Lenasa,  the  ayiov  inl  Arjuaia),  was  celebrated  at  the 
Lenaeum  in  the  month  of  Gamelion  ;  and,  moreover,  there 

1  I  give  the  customary  explanation,  though  there  is  much  force  in    Mr.   L.    K. 
Famell's  argument  that  X^vaiov  must  come  from  \r)vai,  not  Xtjvos.      Classical  Review. 


Early  Precinct  of  Dionysus. 

Later  house  in  front ;   hall  of  Iobacchi  above ;   behind 

it,  Areopagus. 


ii2  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

would  be  no  room  in  so  small  a  precinct  for  the  crowd 
which  would  gather  to  attend  this  popular  festival  and 
to  see  the  theatrical  performances  that  accompanied  it. 
Above  all,  we  know  from  an  inscription '  that  the  festival 
of  the  Lenosa  was  still  celebrated  as  late  as  192  a.d., 
when  this  early  precinct  was  buried  and  the  Hall  of 
the  Iobacchi  built  above  its  ruins.  With  the  Dionysium 
in  the  Marshes  the  case  is  not  so  simple.  The  only  clue 
that  we  possess  as  to  the  position  of  this  temple,  apart 
from  its  title,  is  the  much-disputed  passage  in  Thu- 
cydides  II.  15;'"  and  though  I  hold,  in  common  with 
the  majority  of  interpreters,  that  the  argument  of  Thu- 
cydides  is  stultified,  unless  the  temples  mentioned  in  this 
passage  lie  to  the' south  of  the  Acropolis,  Professor  Dorp- 
feld  and  those  who  hold  with  him  upon  this  question  do 
not  admit  the  inference.  As  to  the  situation  of  the 
quarter  named  the  Marshes  (Ai/^cu),  it  is  notoriously 
dangerous  to  argue  about  the  names  of  natural  features 
when  retained  in  the  middle  of  a  town,3  and  I  think  it 
would  be  wiser  to  leave  this  consideration  out  of  the 
question.  But,  if  it  is  to  be  brought  in,  I  think  it  is 
easier  to  suppose  that  a  marsh  existed  between  the 
theatre  and  the  Ilissus,  where  we  know  there  was  a 
great  ditch,  presumably  for  drainage,  and  containing 
mud   worth  carrying  away,  than   on  the  arid  watershed 

1  CIA.  lit.  1160,  quoted  by  Frazer,  V.  498. 
Mote  l\  a. 

8 The  case  of  Market  llill  in  Cambridge,  which  is  absolutely  level,  and  in  the 
middle  of  a  Hat  region,  is  a  good  example.  No  topographer  who  wont  by  names 
would  admit  its  identification. 


THE   TOWN    BEFORE   THE    PERSIAN    WARS  113 

between  the  Acropolis  and  the   Pnyx.1     The  argument 

in  favour  of  the  precinct  being  the  Dionysium  in  the 
Marshes,  apart  from  the  topographical  question,  amounts 
to  little  more  than  this  —  that  it  is  evidently  a  very  early 
shrine  of  Dionysus,  and  that  Thucydides  says  the  temple 
in  the  Marshes  was  the  one  in  which  the  earlier  Dionysia 
were  celebrated;  such  an  argument,  though  good  as  far 
as  it  goes,  is  evidently  insufficient  in  itself,  for  there  were 
probably  many  early  precincts  of  Dionysus  in  Athens, 
belonging  to  the  various  early  settlements  ;  there  must, 
for  example,  have  been  one  in  Kollytos,  where  the  coun- 
try Dionysia  were  celebrated  ;  '2  why  should  not  this  have 
been  a  corresponding  local  shrine  in  Melite  ?  It  seems 
extremely  improbable  that  a  sacred  precinct  of  such  im- 
portance as  that  of  Dionysus  in  the  Marshes,  where  the 
most  primitive  and  most  solemn  festival  of  the  Anthes- 
teria  was  held,  —  a  festival  that  was  essential  to  the 
state  religion,  and  in  which  the  Queen,  the  wife  of  the 
magistrate  called  the  King,  took  the  most  prominent 
part,3  —  should  have  been  forgotten  and  buried  before 
the  second  century  of  our  era. 

1  The  Hero  Calamites,  who  used  to  come  into  this  argument  as  near  the  Le- 
nseum,  disappears  from  the  controversy,  if  the  identity  of  Lemeum  and  Dionysium 
in  the  Marshes  is  given  up.  2  Dem.  de  Cor.  180;    .Eschin.  I.  157. 

3  The  stela  with  the  oath  the  (3ao-i\ivva  administered  to  the  yepdpai,  which  was 
set  up  beside  the  altar  of  the  Dionysium  in  the  Marshes,  has  been  associated  with  the 
sockets  for  a  stela  found  on  the  altar  in  this  precinct.  But  such  things  are  common 
enough.  There  is  more  in  the  suggestion  that  the  Iobaccheia,  which  the  yepdpai 
promise  to  perform  duly,  were  perpetuated  in  the  rites  of  the  Iobacchi  on  the  same 
spot.  The  two,  however,  cannot  be  identical;  for  the  one  is  a  state  ceremony,  the 
other  a  private  one  :  and,  moreover, the  Iobaccheia  are  not  among  the  festivals  which 
the  Iobacchi  celebrate,  and  of  which  we  have  a  complete  list.  It  seems,  then,  that 
this  is  no  more  than  an  accidental  coincidence. 


ii4  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

On  the  other  side  of  the  main  road,  opposite  the 
triangular  precinct,  was  a  quaint  little  shrine,  temple 
and  altar  and  precinct  all  complete,  yet  all  contained 
within  an  area  of  about  twenty-five  feet  by  fifteen  —  the 
temple  itself  a  mere  rectangular  cell,  some  6  feet  by  5. 
There  is  no  clue  as  to  the  deity  to  whom  the  shrine 
was  dedicated ;  very  likely  such  small  precincts  were 
set  aside  in  many  of  the  streets  of  an  ancient  town,  just 
as  one  sees  small  shrines  beside  the  road,  both  in  town 
and  country,  anywhere  in  southern  Europe,  at  the 
present  day.  The  little  precinct  was  buried  and  for- 
gotten before  the  fourth  century,  when  a  club-house 
was  built  over  it. 

Of  the  houses  of  this  early  period  little  can  be  said, 
for  nothing  is  left  but  the  lower  courses  of  their  outer 
walls.  Farther  along  the  road,  opposite  the  foot-path 
leading  up  to  the  Acropolis,  there  are  no.  remains  of 
early  houses  between  the  road  and  the  Pnyx  hill ; 
indeed,  there  appears  to  have  been  a  fairly  extensive 
open  space  here,  estimated  by  Professor  Dorpfeld  at 
about  40  metres  by  20  (130  ft.  by  65  ft.).  Here  was  the 
well-house  at  the  end  of  the  aqueduct,  constructed  in  all 
probability  by  Pisistratus  ' ;  some  stones  have  actually 
been  found  with  water  channels  cut  in  them,  and  others 
with  sockets  in  which  to  rest  the  pitchers  as  they  were 
being  filled.  This  comparatively  spacious  place  must 
have  been  the  centre  of  civic  life  in  this  district,  situated 
as  it  was  by  the    fountain,  and  immediately  below    the 

1  Sec  (  haptcr  I  a. 


THE   TOWN    BEFORE   THE    PERSIAN    WARS  ,,5 

entrance  to  the  Acropolis ;  and  with  the  streets,  houses, 
and  temples  that  surround  it,  it  enables  us  for  the 
first  time  to  realise  in  imagination  what  one  of  the 
most  populous  districts  of  ancient  Athens  must  have 
looked  like  in  the  time  before  the  Persian  Wars. 
Opposite  the  open  space,  in  the  corner  between  the 
main  road  and  the  path  to  the  Acropolis,  lay  another 
sacred  precinct.  In  later  times  this  was  dedicated  to 
Asclepius  and  Amynos ;  but  if,  as  we  have  seen  in  the 
case  of  the  better-known  Asclepieum,  the  worship  of 
Asclepius  was  not  introduced  into  Athens  until  420  B.C., 
we  must  suppose  that  he  was  adopted  later  to  share  an 
early  shrine  of  healing  dedicated  to  the  Attic  hero, 
Amynos.  Little  is  left  of  early  date  except  the  sur- 
rounding walls  of  the  precinct,  and  perhaps  a  small 
chapel  of  Amynos  ;  the  propylcea  at  the  corner  and  all 
the  dedications  belong  to  the  later  history  of  the  precinct. 
Beyond  this  precinct,  in  the  loop  between  the  road 
and  the  beginning  of  the  ascent  to  the  Acropolis, 
nothing  has  been  found  except  some  graves  of  Myce- 
naean period  or  slightly  later.  There  is  little  even  of 
negative  evidence,  for  there  is  so  shallow  an  accumula- 
tion of  earth  above  the  native  rock  that  it  is  not  to  be 
expected  that  much  would  survive.  There  are  indeed 
no  foundations  of  houses ;  but  there  are  no  foundations 
of  temples  either,  nor  have  any  traces  been  found  of  the 
dedications  which  could  hardly  have  failed  to  have  left 
some  fragments  behind  them,  if  this  had  been  an 
important    sanctuary.       The    facts    are     the    more    dis- 


n6  ANCIENT  ATHENS 

appointing  as  this  is  the  place  which  Professor  Dorp- 
feld  assigns  to  the  Eleusinium  below  the  Acropolis; 
and  if  we  could  assert  with  confidence  either  that  it 
was  here  or  that  it  could  not  have  been  here,  we 
should  have  valuable  evidence  either  to  corroborate  or 
to  disprove  his  system  of  Athenian  topography.  As  it 
is,  the  position  of  the  Eleusinium  must  still  be  regarded 
as  uncertain ;  it  depends  entirely  upon  general  con- 
siderations of  topography  such  as  we  are  not  at  present 
concerned  with.1 

To  the  north  of  the  Acropolis,  where  the  town  of 
mediaeval  and  modern  Athens  is  situated,  there  are 
practically  no  ancient  remains  except  of  Hellenistic 
and  Roman  date.  In  view  of  the  extreme  cost  and 
difficulty  of  excavations  in  this  region,  we  shall  prob- 
ably have  to  be  content  for  some  time  to  come  with 
such  inferences  as  the  conformation  of  the  ground 
and  the  allusions  in  ancient  authors  will  allow  in  any 
attempt  to  realise  what  buildings  and  what  quarters 
of  the  early  Greek  city  occupied  this  region.  It  is 
not  until  we  come  to  the  south-east  of  the  Acropolis 
that  we  find  any  monuments  of  early  date ;  here,  above 
the  valley  of  the  Ilissus,  is  a  collection  of  early  temples 
and  sacred  objects  to  which  especial  honour  was 
given  by  the  Tyrants,  but  which,  some  of  them  at 
least,  must  preserve  the  traditions  of  an  earlier  age. 
Chief  among  them  is  the  Olympieum,  a  building  which 
ranked  among  the  seven  wonders  of  the  world,  and  of 
1  See  discussion  below,  Note  XIII  </. 


THE   TOWN    BEFORE   THE    PERSIAN    WARS 


117 


The  Olympieum  and  Stadium  from  the  Acropolis. 
Above,  Hymettus. 

which  we  know  the  architectural  history  from  literary 
sources  with  an  exceptional  amount  of  completeness 
and  certainty.  But  at  present  we  are  not  concerned 
with  its  later  glories,  nor  with  the  erection  of  the 
huge  columns  that  are  still  among  the  most  conspicu- 
ous monuments  of  modern  Athens.  Before  Pisis- 
tratus  began  the  great  temple  that  was  to  remain 
unfinished  until  the  time  of  Hadrian,  there  must  have 
been  some  earlier  building  on  this  spot.  Mr.  Pen- 
rose's excavations  in  1885  showed,  underneath  the 
foundations  of  Pisistratus'  work,  other  walls  at  a 
slightly  different  angle,  which  he  assigns  to  the  earlier 
temple  traditionally  said  to  have  been  built  by  I  )eu- 
calion.      Here    also    was    a   smaller   precinct    dedicated 


u8  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

to  Ge  Olympia,  and  in  this  was  shown  the  cleft  by 
which  the  waters  of  Deucalion's  flood  were  said  to 
have  been  swallowed ;  it  was  about  eighteen  inches 
wide,  and  every  year  cakes  of  wheaten  meal  kneaded 
with  honey  were  thrown  into  it.  The  tomb  of  Deu- 
calion was  to  be  seen  in  the  neighbourhood.  All 
these  things  have  a  primitive  character,  and  it  can 
hardly  be  doubted  that  there  was  in  this  region  from 
the  earliest  times  a  collection  of  sacred  objects,  in- 
cluding some  that  are  natural  in  origin.  It  is,  however, 
probable  enough  that  the  name  Olympieum  and  the 
epithet  "  Olympian,"  attached  to  both  Zeus  and  Earth, 
are  a  later  modification.  Such  a  change  would  well 
accord  with  the  Panhellenic  tendencies  of  Pisistratus 
and  his  contemporaries,  and  the  consequent  organisa- 
tion of  Greek  religion  and  general  recognition  of  the 
Olympian  cult.  There  was  also  a  temple  of  Cronos 
and  Rhea,  which  may  belong  to  the  same  age.  How- 
ever this  may  be,  the  temple  of  Olympian  Zeus,  as 
begun  by  Pisistratus,  was  on  a  most  magnificent  scale. 
Although  its  plan  cannot  be  completely  recovered,  the 
remains  of  its  walls  and  pavement  show  that  it  had 
an  orientation  slightly  different  from  that  of  the  later 
temple,  and  that  the  cella  was,  by  Mr.  Penrose's  esti- 
mate, i  1 6  feet  long  and  50  feet  wide  —  considerably 
larger  than  that  of  the  Parthenon.  It  was  of  the 
Doric  order,  and  the  immense  size  of  its  columns 
may  be  judged  from  the  unfluted  drums  belonging 
to    it    that    have    been     used    as     a    foundation    for    the 


THE   TOWN    BEFORE   THE    PERSIAN    WARS  119 

present  Corinthian  columns  or  built  into  other  struc- 
tures in  the  neighbourhood.  One  of  these  is  not  less 
than  7  feet  10  inches  in  diameter;1  it  is  made  of 
Piraic  limestone.  It  is  impossible  to  judge  how 
far  toward  completion  the  building  had  advanced 
before  the  expulsion  of  the  Tyrants  put  an  end  to  its 
progress ;  but  it  remained  all  through  the  great  age 
of  Athens  in  an  unfinished  state.  Perhaps,  just  as  the 
blackened  ruins  of  the  temples  sacked  by  the  Persians 
were  left  to  perpetuate  resentment  and  to  incite  ven- 
geance, so  the  monumental  record  of  this  ambitious 
and  abortive  scheme  was  intended  to  serve  as  a  warn- 
ing against  the  presumption  of  tyrants;  but  to  it,  as 
well  as  to  the  later  temple  begun  on  the  same  site  in 
Hellenistic  times,  might  be  applied  the  words  of  Livy, 
"  Unum  in  terris  inchoatum  pro  magnitudine  dei." 

The  Pythium,  which  lay  close  to  the  Olympieum 
beside  the  Ilissus,  is  also  said  to  have  been  built  by 
Pisistratus.  Its  exact  position  is  not  known,  but  several 
inscriptions  once  set  up  in  it  have  been  found  by  the 
river,  just  to  the  south-west  of  the  Olympieum,  and  so 
this  is  generally  recognised  as  its  probable  situation. 
The  honour  paid  to  it  by  the  Tyrants  is  attested  by 
the  inscription,  on  an  altar,  quoted  by  Thucydides,2 
which  has  actually  been  found  on  this  spot :  — 

1  Penrose,  J.H.S.  VIII.  273.  Those  of  the  Parthenon  are  about  6  feet  3 
inches  at  the  bottom  ;  those  of  the  temple  of  Zeus  at  Olympia  (the  largest  extant 
Greek  columns  known),  7  feet  3  inches. 

2  Curiously  enough,  Thucydides  says  dfj.vdpoTs  ypd/j./j.aai,  while  the  inscription  is 
now  perfectly  clear  ;  the  explanation  may  be  that  the  colour  originally  put  in  the 
letters  had  faded. 


120  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

fAvrjfj.0.  t68   r)s  apx^s  Ilao-icrTpaTos  'ItnrLOV  uios 
Ofjuev  'AttoAAwvos  TIvOlov  iv  Ttfxevti. 

This  Pisistratus  is  the  grandson  of  the  Tyrant.  There 
is  not  here,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Olympieum,  any  evi- 
dence that  the  temple  built  by  Pisistratus  was  on  the 
site  of  an  older  sanctuary. 

Just  below  the  Olympieum  the  bed  of  the  Ilissus  is 
crossed  by  a  shelf  of  rock,  over  which  the  river  forms  a 
cascade  when  it  is  in  flood  ;  and  in  the  shelf  of  rock  is 
a  spring,  now  scanty,  but  never  dry,  which  is  tradition- 
ally identified  as  the  famous  Callirrhoe ;  the  modern 
usage  goes  back  at  least  to  the  time  of  Wheler;  and 
his  testimony  in  this  matter  is  the  more  valuable,  be- 
cause he  realised  the  difficulty  of  explaining  the  route 
of  Pausanias,  and  even  inclined  to  explain  the  name  as 
a  mere  coincidence.  Whether  this  is  the  same  Callir- 
rhoe that  was  furnished  with  an  ornamental  fountain  by 
the  Tyrants,  and  then  called  Enneacrunus,  is  a  difficult 
and  disputed  question,  and  is  discussed  elsewhere.1  But 
here  we  may  notice  its  proximity  to  the  buildings  which 
we  know  to  have  been  begun  by  Pisistratus,  and  the 
consequent  probability  of  his  having  built  a  fountain 
here,  as  well  as  the  aqueduct  that  led  to  the  space  in 
front  of  the  gates  of  the  Acropolis. 

Just  across  the  river  was  the  suburb  of  Agra\  famous 
for  the  celebration  of  the  Lesser  Mysteries.  Whether 
these  mysteries  existed  before  the  adoption  of  Eleusis 
and  its  rites  into  the  cycle  of   Athenian  state   religion   is 

1  Sec  I  (i.  pp.  [8-21,  ainl  also  Note  XIII a  (l'ausanias). 


THE   TOWN    BEFORE   THE   PERSIAN    WARS 


121 


a  doubtful  matter ;  but  after  that  adoption,  the  Lesser 
Mysteries  at  Agra'  had  to  be  attended  in  the  spring,  as 
a  necessary  qualification  before  proceeding  to  the  first 
stage  of  initiation  at  Eleusis  the  following  autumn. 
They  must  have  been  held  in  a  temple  of  Demeter  in 
this  region,  to  be  distinguished  from  the  Eleusinia  below 


Stadium  (before  Recent   Restoration),  and   Modern  Bridge  over  Ilissus. 

the  Acropolis.  A  little  farther  on  was  the  Stadium, 
where  the  Panathenaic  games  were  held  ;  this  was  orig- 
inally a  natural  valley,  and  we  have  no  information  as 
to  when  it  received  its  present  shape ;  but  it  is  hardly 
rash  to  conjecture  that  Pisistratus,  who  added  greatly  to 
the  prestige  of  the  Panathenaea,  and  raised  them  to  an 
almost     Panhellenic    importance,    must    have    provided 


122  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

them  with  a  stadium  corresponding  to  their  pretensions, 
if  the  one  already  existing  at  Athens  had  not  yet  been 
altered  from  its  primitive  simplicity. 

Another  temple  that  must  be  assigned  to  the  time 
before  the  Persian  Wars,  and  probably  to  Pisistratus,  is 
that  of  Dionysus,  just  below  the  theatre  —  not,  of  course, 
the  larger  one,  of  which  the  conglomerate  foundations 
are  conspicuous,  but  the  smaller  one,  of  which  only  a 
corner  now  remains,  encroaching  on  the  step  of  the  long 
portico  that  backs  the  scene  of  Lycurgus.  This  corner,, 
however,  shows  the  characteristic  material,  Kara  stone, 
which,  so  far  as  we  know,  was  only  used  in  the  age  of 
Pisistratus ;  and  the  character  of  the  work  and  the 
clamps  used  also  suit  the  sixth  century.  This  must  be 
the  temple  of  Dionysus  Eleuthereus,  in  which  his  early 
wooden  image  was  housed,  and  from  which  it  was  taken 
on  its  annual  journey  to  the  Academy  and  back.  Tra- 
dition said  that  the  statue  was  brought  from  Eleuthera? 
on  the  borders  of  Attica  and  Bceotia,  to  Athens  by  a 
certain  Pegasus,  whose  action  was  approved  by  the 
Delphic  oracle;  we  know  nothing  further  of  this  mat- 
ter, but  it  is  generally  regarded  as  part  of  the  general 
concentration  of  the  chief  Attic  cults  in  Athens  itself. 
Close  to  the  temple  there  exist,  beneath  the  later  stage 
buildings,  the  remains  of  a  circle  of  very  primitive 
structure,  partly  of  Acropolis  rock,  partly  of  the  soft 
.sandstone  that  underlies  it.  This  circle  was  first  recog- 
nised by  Professor  Dorpfeld  as  the  primitive  orchestra 
or  dancing  place,  where  the  dances  took  place  in   honour 


THE   TOWN    BEFORE   THE    PERSIAN    WARS  123 

of  Dionysus.  To  judge  from  the  material,  it  probably 
goes  back  to  a  very  early  time  ;  possibly  it  was  an  early 
threshing-floor  utilised  for  the  purpose  ;  such  threshing- 
floors  suggest  orchestras  at  the  present  clay,  when  one 
sees  them  near  a  Greek  town  or  village ;  and  we.  know 
that  at  Delphi  the  place  where  the  sacred  drama  of  the 
fight  of  Apollo  and  the  Python  was  periodically  per- 
formed was  called  the  threshing-floor.  Choric  dances 
in  honour  of  Dionysus  are  of  course  far  earlier  than  the 
dramatic  performances  which,  to  some  extent,  but  never 
entirely,  superseded  them.  The  earliest  dramatic  per- 
formances in  Athens  are  said  to  have  been  given,  not 
here,  but  in  the  Agora  or  the  Lenaeum.  This  temple 
of  Dionysus  Eleuthereus  cannot  be  identical  with  the 
temple  of  Dionysus  in  the  Marshes ;  for  the  latter  was 
open  only  one  day  in  the  year,  at  the  Anthesteria,1  while 
the  Theatre  of  Dionysus  and  the  precinct  to  which  it  is 
attached  must  have  been  open  at  least  at  the  great 
Dionysia,  and  later,  also,  whenever  there  was  a  public 
assembly  in  the  Theatre.  And,  moreover,  Thucydides' 
intention,  when  he  mentions  among  the  early  temples 
to  the  south  of  the  Acropolis  the  Dionysium  in  the 
Marshes,  defining  it  as  the  one  where  they  celebrate 
the  more  primitive  Dionysia  in  the  month  Anthesterion, 
can  only  be  to  distinguish  it  from  the  more  familiar  pre- 
cinct below  the  Theatre.  As  to  the  exact  position  of 
the  Dionysium  in  the  Marshes  we  have  no  further  clue ; 

1  Dem.   LIX,   76:     Hira!-  yap  rod   eviai'Tov  eKacrrov    avoiyerai,   rjj   8vbjdeKa.Tr]  rov 
1  AvOecrTijpLojvos  fxrji>6s. 


i24  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

there  are,  as  we  have  seen,  serious  objections  to  identi- 
fying it  with  the  precinct  recently  discovered  by  Pro- 
fessor Dorpfeld  below  the  Areopagus.  It  has  been 
thought  that  the  third  important  temple  of  Dionysus  in 
Athens,  the  Lenaeum,  or  "  Place  of  the  Wine-press," 
may  have  been  identical  with  either  or  both  of  the  other 
two.  But  there  is  really  no  reason  to  doubt  its  inde- 
pendent existence ;  the  title  of  the  festival  held  there, 
6  eVt  Arjvaico  aycov,  seems  to  imply  that  it  was  a  separate 
precinct.  The  Lenaeum  is  of  peculiar  interest  for  the 
period  preceding  the  Persian  Wars ;  for  it  was  at  the 
festival  of  the  Lenaea  that  dramatic  performances  were 
first  introduced,  and  it  is  generally  supposed  that  the 
Great,  or  City  Dionysia,1  which  were  held  in  later  times 
in  the  theatre  above  the  precinct  of  Dionysus  Eleu- 
thereus,  and  at  which  most  of  the  plays  we  possess  were 
first  performed,  were  not  instituted  until  after  the  Per- 
sian Wars.-'  It  would  be  very  interesting  if  we  could 
identify  with  any  degree  of  probability  the  place  where 
the  earliest  dramas  were  performed  ;  but  there  is  no 
clue  to  the  exact  position  of  the  Lenaeum,  unless  we 
attempt  to  reconcile  the  two  alternative  statements 
already  quoted,  that  the  first  plays  were  performed 
either  in  the  Agora  or  the  Lenaeum,  by  the  supposition 
that  the  Lenaeum  was  in  or  near  the  Agora.  The 
explanations  given  by  lexicographers  of  the  proverb, 
an  alyetpov  0ea,  tell  of  a  scaffolding  with  seats,  built 
for   the   dramatic   performances   before   the   theatre   was 

1  To.  /xfydXa  or  to.  iv  &<rrei.  -  Sec  Miiller,  Biihnenaltertumer,  p.   510. 


THE   TOWN    BEFORE   THE    PERSIAN    WARS  125 

made,  and  reaching  to  a  poplar  whence  the  most  dis- 
tant spectators  could  see;  and  such  a  poplar  is  said  to 
have  existed  in  the  Agora.  However,  even  if  this 
hypothesis  be  granted,  we  should  not  have  gained 
much  until  we  had  ascertained  where  the  early  Agora 
was,  and  this  is  another  most  difficult  problem.  In 
the  whole  question  of  these  various  Dionysia,  the 
views  here  given  appear  to  be  the  most  probable  infer- 
ences from  the  existing  data  ;  but  it  must  be  admitted 
that  these  data  are  inadequate,  and  to  some  extent  con- 
tradictory, and  that  new  discoveries  may  necessitate  a 
revision  of  some  of  the  conclusions. 

After  this  survey  of  the  buildings  earlier  than  the 
Persian  Wars  of  which  we  can  either  ascertain  or  con- 
jecture the  situation,  we  must  return  to  the  more  general 
question  from  which  we  started,  and  ask  what,  in  all 
probability,  were  the  general  characteristics  of  the 
town,  and  where   was  the   chief  centre   of   civic  life. 

It  is  probable,  as  we  have  seen,  that  the  various 
villages  around  the  Acropolis  had  each  its  own  local 
shrines  and  even,  perhaps,  its  local  market-place.  But 
after  the  concentration  had  taken  place,  there  must 
have  been  an  Agora  and  a  set  of  public  buildings 
recognised  as  belonging,  not  to  one  town  alone,  but  to 
all  the  citizens  scattered  throughout  Attica.  The 
religious  centre  remained  in  the  Acropolis  ;  but  the 
centre  of  civic  life  and  civic  worship  in  a  Greek  city, 
as  soon  as  it  leaves  the  palace  of  the  king,  usually 
centres  about  the  hearth  of  the  state ;  and  this  is  repre- 


126  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

sented  by  the  Tholus,  where  the  Prytanes  sacrificed, 
and  the  Prytaneum,  or  centre  of  official  life.  We 
know  approximately  where  these  buildings  were  in 
later  times ;  the  Prytaneum  was  not  far  from  the  sanc- 
tuary of  Aglauros,  below  the  north  slope  of  the  Acropo- 
lis, and  the  Tholus  was  near  the  upper  end  of  the  Agora. 
The  two  are  not  likely  to  have  been  far  from  one 
another. ]  The  Tholus  in  any  case  was  the  place  where 
the  hospitality  of  the  city  was  dispensed.  Beside  it 
was  the  Buleuterium  or  Senate-house.  So  long  as  the 
Tholus  and  Prytaneum  were  in  this  position,  we  must 
imagine  the  Agora  also  as  lying  to  the  north  of  the 
Areopagus  and  to  the  north-west  of  the  Acropolis. 
Indeed,  Professor  Curtius,  who  places  the  earliest 
Agora  to  the  south  of  the  Acropolis,  has  to  place  the 
earliest  Prytaneum  there  also.  But  such  a  shifting  of 
the  pivots  of  public  and  official  life  is  in  the  highest 
degree  improbable ;  nor  does  the  statement  of  Thu- 
cydides  justify  the  assumption.  Thucydides,  it  is  true, 
says  that  the  earliest  city  so  far  as  it  lay  outside  the 
Acropolis,  lay  mainly  to  the  south  ;  but  it  is  the  posi- 
tion of  early  temples,  not  of  early  municipal  buildings, 
that  he  quotes  in  support  of  the  statement ;  nor  could 
he  have  failed  to  quote  evidence  so  convincing,  if  he 
had  had  any  knowledge  of  an  earlier  Prytaneum  to  the 
south  of  the  Acropolis.  The  common  Prytaneum  and 
Buleuterium,  of   which    Thucydides   attributes   the   foun- 

1  When  tlic  Scholiast,  in  Ar.  Pax,  115.5,  says  they  were  side  l>y  side,  he  probably 
confuses  Prytaneum  and  Buleuterium. 


THE   TOWN    BEFORE  THE   PERSIAN   WARS  127 

elation  to  Theseus,  are  evidently  those  which  continued 
to  exist  throughout  historical  times  in  Athens.  Before 
the  time  of  Theseus,  who  had  come  to  be  regarded  by 
the  Athenians  as  the  champion  and  founder  of  the 
democracy,  there  is  perhaps  no  need  to  look  for  public 
buildings  other  than  the  palace  of  the  king  and  the 
temples  of  the  gods.  We  may,  then,  assert  with  some 
confidence  that  the  earliest  civic  life  of  Athens,  and 
with  it  the  Agora,  must  have  lain  to  the  north-west  of 
the  Acropolis  ;  but  it  is  by  no  means  so  easy  to  deter- 
mine the  exact  position  and  extent  of  the  Agora  at  this 
or  at  any  time  in  the  history  of  the  town.  We  should 
naturally  expect  it  to  be  a  more  or  less  level  area,  lying 
between  the  Dipylon  Gate  and  the  Acropolis.  Pro- 
cessions starting  from  the  Dipylon  doubtless  came  to 
it ;  but  whether  they  passed  through  it  to  the  upper 
end,  or  circled  round  it  and  then  went  out  the  way 
they  came  and  on  by  another  route,  is  by  no  means 
certain.1  A  space  that  suits  the  required  conditions 
may  be  found  in  the  depression  that  lies  to  the  east 
of  the  Theseum,  and  to  the  north  of  the  gap  between 
the  Areopagus  and  the  Acropolis ;  and  this  has  the 
advantage  of  not  being  too  far  away  from  the  Pryta- 
neum.  An  alternative  view  is,  that  the  Agora  was  not 
so  much  an  open  square  as  a  continuous  market  street, 
which  stretched  away  from  near  the  Theseum  to  just 
below  the  Pnyx.  As  most  of  our  evidence  about  the 
Agora    belongs    to    the   succeeding    periods,   we    must 

1  see  p.  133. 


128 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


leave  most  of  these  questions  for  the  present ;  but  there 
is  one,  perhaps  the  most  decisive  of  all,  with  which  we 
are  now  concerned.  After  the  expulsion  of  the  Tyrants, 
the  Athenians  set  up  statues  to  Harmodius  and  Aristo- 
giton,  who  had  slain  Hipparchus,  as  the  representative 
heroes  of  the  new  freedom.     It  is  true  that  the  statues 


Site  <>k  Agora  from  Acropolis. 

Pnyx,  Areopagus,  Theseum.     Beyond  them,  olive  groves  beside  Cephisus.     Above, 
yEgaleos  and  Pass  of  Daphne. 

were  taken  away  by  Xerxes  ;  but  they  were  replaced  by 
other  statues,  and  the  original  ones  also  were  restored 
at  a  later  date.  Probably  the  place  assigned  to  these 
statins,  which  was  reserved  for  them  alone,  was  the 
same  from  the  first  ;  and  we  are  told  by  Arrian  that  it 
was  beside  the  ascent  to  the  Acropolis,  and  opposite  the 


The  Tyrannicides,  Harmodius  and  Aristogiton. 


THE   TOWN    BEFORE   THE   PERSIAN    WARS  131 

Metroum,  which  we  know  to  have  adjoined  the  Buleu- 
terium.  They  were  therefore  at  the  upper  or  southern 
end  of  the  Agora ;  and  if  we  could  decide  what  is 
meant  by  the  ascent  to  the  Acropolis,  we  should  know 
approximately  where  this  end,  at  least,  of  the  Agora 
must  be  placed.  Earlier  topographers,  taking  the  ascent 
to  mean  the  immediate  approach  to  the  Propylaea,  placed 
the  statues  of  the  Tyrannicides  just  below  this.  But  it 
is  incredible  that  the  Agora  can  have  extended  to  the 
south  of  the  Areopagus :  it  would  in  that  case  lose 
all  unity  and  character,  and  be  quite  unsuited  to  its 
purpose.  We  are  therefore  reduced  to  two  alternatives  : 
the  ascent  to  the  Acropolis  at  the  upper  end  of  the 
Agora  must  either  mean  the  rather  steep  way  up  to  the 
saddle  between  the  Areopagus  and  the  Acropolis,  or 
the  gentler  acclivity  between  the  Areopagus  and  the 
Pnyx.  The  former  position  seems  more  probable,  for 
various  reasons.  In  the  first  place  I  do  not  think  the 
words,  fj  avt/xev  eg  ttoXiv,  "  the  way  by  which  we  ascend  to 
the  Acropolis"  is  at  all  a  natural  or  even  intelligible 
description  of  the  road  that  runs  along  the  foot  of 
the  Pnyx  Hill,  as  viewed  from  the  space  to  the  north 
of  the  Areopagus.  It  has  only  a  gentle  slope  x  and  it 
does  not  lead  directly  to  the  Acropolis  at  all ;  a  branch, 
indeed,  zigzags  off  from  it  to  the  Acropolis  just  as  from 
the  modern  carriage  road,  as  it  approaches  the  Odeum  of 
Herodes;  but  the  more  direct  road  leads  to  the  Itonian 
Gate  on  one  side,  to  the   Theatre  of  Dionysus  on  the 

1  The  modern  road  along  the  same  line  has  a  slope  of  about  one  in  twenty. 


132  ANCIENT   ATHENS 


Site  of  Agora  from  near  Theseum. 
Above,  Acropolis  and  Areopagus,  and  path  up  to  saddle  between  them. 

other.  Nobody  at  the  present  day,  who  found  himself 
to  the  north  of  the  Areopagus,  would  think  of  describ- 
ing the  passage  to  the  west  of  it  as  the  ascent  to  the 
Acropolis,  or  of  going  round  that  way  to  the  Acropolis 
if  on  foot.  The  ascent  between  the  Areopagus  and 
the  Acropolis  is  indeed  a  steep  one,  and  unsuitable 
for  carriages ;  but  it  is  not  so  steep  as  the  ascent 
immediately  below  the  Propylaea;  nor  is  there  any 
reason  for  supposing  that  a  carriage  road  went  by  it. 
For  carriages  and  for  processions  with  unwieldy  vehicles, 
the  more  circuitous  route  is  doubtless  preferable  ;  and 
if  we  must  imagine  that  such  processions  usually  passed 
through  the  Agora  and  out  at  its  upper  end,  then 
they  most  probably  did  go  by  the  road  under  the  Pnyx 
Hill.  Even  then,  however,  Arrian's  expression,  fj  diH/xev, 
could  still  more  naturally  refer  to  the  ordinary,  not 
the  processional,  route  ;  the  existence  of  the  two  ways 
is  to  some  extent  confirmed  by  the  passage  in  the 
epistle     attributed    to      Diogenes,1    describing    the    two 

1  No.  30. 


THE   TOWN    BEFORE   THE    PERSIAN    WARS 


*33 


Site  of  Agora  from  near  Theseum. 
Above,  Areopagus,  Museum,  and  Pnyx  Hill,  and  road  between  them. 

roads  leading-  up  to  the  Acropolis,  one  short  and  steep, 
the  other  long  and  gently  sloping ;  but  it  is  more  likely 
that  this  refers  to  a  short  cut  at  the  final  ascent,  for  it 
is  only  pointed  out  on  a  near  approach  to  the  Acropolis. 
It  is,  moreover,  possible  that  the  Panathenaic  pro- 
cessions, after  circling  round  the  Agora,  left  it  again 
at  the  point  at  which  they  entered,  and  went  round 
another  way, — perhaps  below  the  east  end  of  the 
Acropolis,  —  so  making  an  almost  complete  circuit  of 
the  city.  There  is,  indeed,  some  evidence  in  favour 
of  this  route.  And,  if  so,  there  is  no  reason  left  for 
regarding  the  ascent  from  Agora  to  Acropolis  as  pass- 
ing to  the  west  rather  than  to  the  east  of  the 
Areopagus.  This  discussion  has  involved  some  antici- 
pation of  matters  that  really  belong  to  a  later  period, 
and  has  led  us  into  something  of  a  digression.  But 
it  is  of  essential  importance  to  our  notion  as  to 
the  position  of  the  most  central  parts  of  the  early  as 
well   as    of   the   later  town.     If  we  suppose  the  Agora 


i34  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

to  lie  just  north  of  the  gap  between  Areopagus  and 
Acropolis,  another  great  advantage  is  gained  in  the 
comparative  proximity  of  the  Prytaneum  below  the 
precinct  of  Aglauros  to  the  Buleuterium  and  Tholus, 
which  are  so  closely  associated  with  it  both  in  history 
and  in  daily  life  and  ritual.  It  is  even  more  difficult 
to  accept  a  scheme  of  topography  which  involves  a 
considerable  distance  between  these  buildings  for  the 
early  town  than  for  the  later;  and  according  to  the 
theory  which  makes  the  Agora  extend  up  to  the  foot 
of  the  Pnyx,  they  would  be  separated,  not  only  by  a 
linear  distance  of  over  five  hundred  yards,  but  also 
by  a  great  part  of  the  rocky  mass  of  the  Areopagus. 

Assuming  then  as  probable,  if  not  certain,  the  results 
of  this  investigation,  let  us  attempt  to  form  some  gen- 
eral notion  of  the  lower  town  of  Athens,  as  it  was  in  the 
time  between  the  expulsion  of  the  Tyrants  and  the 
Persian  Wars.  And  it  will  be  convenient  to  begin  at 
the  same  place  at  which  we  shall  have  to  begin  also 
our  visit  to  the  city  with  Pausanias,  some  650  years 
later.  But  before  we  enter  the  city,  it  will  be  well  to 
take  a  more  comprehensive  survey,  such  as  one  may 
have  from  the  top  of  Lycabettus.  The  view  from  such 
a  height  as  this  makes  one  realise  the  meaning  of  the 
picturesque  expression  of  the  Delphic  oracle,  770X109  rpo- 
XoeiSeo?  <xKpa  Kap-qva.  The  city,  surrounded  by  its 
wall,  is  just  like  a  wheel,  with  the  Acropolis  standing 
up  like  a  huge  nave  in  the  middle  of  it,  its  shapeless 
mass   still    showing   the    uncouth    strength   of    walls  like 


THE   TOWN    BEFORE   THE    PERSIAN    WARS  135 

those  of  Tiryns  or  Mycenae.  Away  to  the  left,  outside 
the  town  walls,  is  the  vast  but  unfinished  structure  of 
the  Olympieum,  and  beside  it  the  Pythium,  another  work 
of  the  Tyrants.  Beyond  the  city  the  peninsula  of  the 
Piraeus  is  as  yet  nothing  more  than  a  quarry,  with  a 
small  fort  on  Munychia,  built  by  Hippias,  —  but  built 
to  secure  his  own  escape  rather  than  as  the  begin- 
ning of  the  splendid  fortified  harbours  that  are  soon 
to  be  devised  by  Themistocles.  Farther  away  on  the 
right  is  Salamis,  already  colonised  by  Athenian  settlers, 
but  still  awaiting  the  battle  predicted  by  the  same 
Delphic  response  that  has  just  been  quoted,  which  will 
make  it  a  household  word  ;  and,  in  the  middle  of  the 
Saronic  Gulf,  /Egina,  "  the  eyesore  of  the  Piraeus," 
the  home  of  some  of  the  most  formidable  rivals  of  the 
Athenians  in  art  as  well  as  in  commercial  and  naval 
supremacy  —  rivals  for  another  fifty  years,  until  they 
are  driven  out  to  seek  a  new  home,  and  their  places  are 
taken  by  colonists  from  Athens.  The  forms  of  the 
mountains  are  the  same  in  all  ages ;  but  Pentelicus 
does  not  yet  show  the  white  scar  of  the  quarries  from 
which  the  architecture  and  the  sculpture  of  Athens  are 
to  draw  their  material.  The  course  of  the  Cephisus  is 
marked  by  the  broad  band  of  olive  groves  that  supply 
a  great  part  of  the  wealth  of  the  towrn,  and  through 
them  passes  the  Sacred  Way  to  Eleusis,  which  is  already 
rising:  to  eminence  anions  the  national  shrines  of  Greece, 
though  not  yet  enjoying  the  recognised  preeminence 
of  a  later  age.     Between  the  olive  groves  and  the  town 


136  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

the  Sacred  Way  passes  through  the  Potters'  Quarter, 
the  Ceramicus,  which  is  divided  by  the  town  wall  into 
an  inner  and  an  outer  portion.  Here  the  potters'  work- 
shops are  already  at  the  highest  point  of  their  commer- 
cial activity  and  of  their  artistic  skill.  The  vases  made 
of  the  beautiful  red  clay  of  the  Ceramicus,  and  painted 
by  a  band  of  artists  who  can  never  be  surpassed  in 
delicacy  and  precision  of  line  drawing  and  in  beauty  of 
decorative  effect,  are  already  famous  throughout  Greek 
lands,  and  even  beyond.  The  tombs  of  Italy  will  pre- 
serve them  in  great  numbers  to  fill  the  museums  of 
Europe.  The  quaint  and  stiff  black-figured  work  has 
already  made  way  for  the  finer  red-figured  technique  ; 
and  among  the  potters  and  painters  who  may  be  seen 
at  work  are  men  like  Euphronius,  Brygos,  and  Hieron, 
whose  fame  as  artists  will  be  far  greater  twenty-four 
centuries  after  their  death  than  it  is  in  their  life- 
time. For  they  are  mere  artificers,  many  of  them  at 
the  head  of  lar^e  manufactories  with  numerous  assist- 
ants ;  and  though  doubtless  the  city  may  take  some 
pride  in  the  great  foreign  demand  for  their  work,  its 
extreme  beauty  is  taken  as  a  matter  of  course,  though 
it   really  is  in   advance  of  the   time. 

Let  us  now  leave  our  point  of  survey  on  the  top  of 
Lycabettus,  and  begin  our  passage  through  the  city 
from  the  Potters'  Quarter.  Between  the  Outer  and 
the  Inner  Ceramicus  we  pass  through  a  gate  which  is 
the  chief  gate  of  the  city;  for  through  it  passes  the 
Sacred    Way   to    Eleusis,   which    is    also    the    highroad 


THE  TOWN    BEFORE   THE    PERSIAN    WARS  137 

to  the  rest  of  continental  Greece.  Here  too  the 
Panathenaic'  procession,  greatly  increased  in  magnifi- 
cence under  the  Tyrants,  is  marshalled  before  it  starts 
its  progress  through  the  town.  It  was  through  this 
gate  that  the  tyrant-slayers,  Harmodius  and  Aristo- 
giton,  rushed  out  to  kill  Hipparchus,  who  was  super- 
vising the  preparations  ;  we  shall  see  their  statues  later 
on,  where  they  have  recently  been  set  up  at  the  top 
of  the  Agora.  Within  the  gate  is  a  street  lined 
with  booths  and  stalls  for  the  sale  of  various  goods, 
leading  to  the  lower  end  of  the  Agora.  The  Agora 
itself  is  not  a  regular  square  surrounded  by  colonnades 
such  as  has  come  into  fashion  in  the  rich  cities  of  Ionia, 
but  a  more  or  less  irregular  space,  above  which  we  can 
see,  rising  high  up  on  the  left,  the  cliffs  and  walls  of  the 
Acropolis,  and,  immediately  in  front,  the  lower  rock  of 
the  Areopagus.  Around  it  are  buildings  for  the  resort 
of  the  citizens  and  for  the  transaction  of  public  business; 
near  the  top  on  the  right,  the  Buleuterium,  founded 
by  Theseus  when  he  first  made  Athens  into  the  central 
city  of  Attica,  but  now  the  home  of  the  new  senate  of  five 
hundred  organised  by  Clisthenes  ;  near  it  is  the  Tholus, 
the  sacred  hearth  of  the  state,  where  the  sacrifices  are 
regularly  made  by  the  officials  of  the  day ;  a  little  way 
off  to  the  left,  below  the  slope  of  the  Acropolis  and  the 
cave  of  Aglauros,  is  the  Prytaneum,  where  the  officials 
are  housed  and  hold  their  frugal  banquets.  Close  to 
it  is  the  temple  of  the  Dioscuri,  where  Pisistratus 
assembled  the  people  together  in  arms,  and  then,  having 


138  ANCIENT  ATHENS 

enticed  them  away,  had  all  their  arms  collected  and 
carried  into  the  sanctuary  of  Aglauros  just  above. 
The  open  space  of  the  Agora  leads  at  the  top  to  a 
kind  of  platform  on  the  side  of  the  hill ;  this  place 
is  called  the  Orchestra,  and  its  associations  for  us  are 
most  interesting.  Here,  when  a  rude  scaffolding  has 
been  erected  that  reaches  to  the  poplar  trees  surround- 
ing the  open  space,  the  first  plays  of  the  famous  Attic 
drama  are  performed  at  the  festival  of  the  Lenaea ; 
for  the  great  theatre  is  not  yet  built,  nor  do  plays  yet 
form  any  part  of  the  festival  held  in  the  precinct  of 
Dionysus  Eleuthereus  to  the  south  of  the  Acropolis, 
although  there  is  an  early  orchestra  there  also  for  the 
choruses  to  dance  on  in  honour  of  the  god.  Here  too, 
beside  the  ascent  to  the  Acropolis,  are  set  up  the  statues 
of  Harmodius  and  Aristogiton,  who  slew  the  Tyrant 
Hipparchus,  and  have  now  come  to  be  counted  as  the 
heroes  and  champions  of  freedom.  The  statues  are 
by  Antenor,1  one  of  the  greatest  of  Attic  sculptors  of 
the  day,  and  as  we  look  at  the  impetuous  forward  rush 
of  the  two  friends,  their  majestic  stature  and  proportions, 
and  the  hard  and  sinewy  modelling  of  their  muscles,  we 
can  appreciate  the  extraordinary  vigour  that  already  dis- 
tinguishes Attic  sculpture,  and  that  promises  wonderful 
things  when  a  little  more  beauty  and  moderation  have 
been  added   to  it. 

1  It  is,  of  course,  doubtful  whether  the  statues  we  now  have  are  derived  from  the 
work  of  Antenor  or  from  that  of  Critius  and  Nesiotes,  which  were  set  up  instead  when 
Xerxes  had  carried  off  Antenor's  figures  ;  but  even  if  Antenor's  were  different  in 
style,  one  may  he  excused  I  he  slight  anachronism;  a  few  years  later  the  group  hy 
Critius  oid  Nesiotes  was  in  this  spot . 


THE  TOWN    BEFORE   THE    PERSIAN    WARS  139 

If  we  mount  past  these  statues,  toward  the  entrance 
of  the  Acropolis,  we  can  see  more  of  the  town  on  various 
sides.  Here  and  there  are  temples,  some  of  them  of 
very  early  date,  some  of  them  showing  the  more  sump- 
tuous work  of  the  Tyrants.  But  the  streets  and  houses 
of  the  town  have  a  very  mean  aspect,  even  the  houses 
of  such  well-known  men  as  Aristides,  or  Miltiades  him- 
self, who  is  a  Tyrant  when  at  home  in  the  Thracian 
Chersonese,  are  not  to  be  distinguished  by  their  greater 
size  or  magnificence.  Most  of  them  are  mere  hovels  of 
wood  and  mud  or  unbaked  brick,  set  perhaps  on  a  stone 
foundation,  and  with  a  flat  mud  roof ;  and  they  are  set 
so  close  to  the  narrow  streets  that  it  is  not  safe  to  open 
a  door  from  within  without  first  knocking  on  it  to  warn 
passers-by.  Reaching  the  western  front  of  the  Acropolis, 
we  see  such  a  quarter  just  below  us,  in  the  hollow  be- 
tween us  and  the  Hill  of  the  Pnyx ;  though  the  road 
that  runs  through  it  is  a  main  thoroughfare,  it  is  barely 
fifteen  feet  wide  —  less  in  places.  Here,  as  usual,  the 
mass  of  houses  is  varied  by  some  open  spaces.  Where 
the  steep  path  leading  straight  down  in  front  of  us  meets 
the  road,  there  is  a  great  fountain  built  at  the  foot  of  the 
Pnyx  Hill ;  and  from  the  lions'  heads  in  its  face  flows 
the  plentiful  supply  of  water  which  the  Tyrant  Pisis- 
tratus  brought  in  a  long  tunnel  from  far  up  the  valley  of 
the  Ilissus,  just  as  his  friends  Theagenes  of  Megara  and 
Polycrates  of  Samos  made  aqueducts  for  their  towns.  In 
front  of  the  fountain  is  an  oblong  place ;  and  above  this 
is  a  precinct   dedicated   to   Amynos,  the  healing   hero, 


14©  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

for  the  Athenians  have  not  yet  introduced  the  foreign 
worship  of  Asclepius  to  supersede  their  local  cult.  A 
little  farther  along  to  the  right,  just  below  the  Areopa- 
gus, is  an  early  triangular  precinct,  with  a  temple  and 
an  altar,  and  a  wine-press  in  the  corner  that  marks  it  as 
sacred  to  Dionysus.  If  we  proceed  farther  to  the  south, 
amidst  the  dismantled  terraces  of  the  Pelargicon,  now 
no  longer  defensible  without  a  wooden  barricade,  we 
may  see  to  the  south  and  south-west  other  early  tem- 
ples. Outside  the  walls  are  the  huge  columns  of  the 
Olympieum,  and  beyond  it  the  suburb  of  Agrae  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Ilissus,  with  the  temple  of  Demeter 
where  the  Lesser  Mysteries  are  now  established,  and 
recognised  as  part  of  the  official  ceremonies  of  Eleusis. 
Could  we  return  a  year  or  two  later,  after  Xerxes  and 
his  devastating  host  have  passed  through  the  country, 
while  the  women  and  children  of  the  Athenians  are 
exiled  to  Salamis  and  /Egina  and  Troezen,  and  the  men 
are  still  awaiting  with  the  rest  of  the  Greek  army  the 
crowning  victory  of  Plataea,  a  very  different  sight  would 
meet  our  eyes.  The  temples  are  all  reduced  to  charred 
and  blackened  ruins,  of  the  town  walls  but  a  few  short 
pieces  remain,  and  the  houses  are  all  destroyed,  except  a 
few  in  which  the  leaders  of  the  Persians  had  established 
themselves.  But  the  disaster  was  timely;  when  the 
Athenians  returned  to  rebuild  and  to  enlarge  their  city, 
they  were  ready  to  fill  both  Acropolis  and  town  with  a 
wealth  of  architecture,  sculpture,  and  painting  that 
would  soon  surpass  all  that  the  invaders  had  destroyed. 


THE    TOWN    BEFORE    THE    PERSIAN    WARS  141 


IV  a.      On    Thucydides,  II.   15.  j  a;id  4 

"  Before  the  time  of  Theseus  the  city  consisted  of 
what  is  now  the  Acropolis,  and  the  district  outside  it 
to  the  southward.  And  a  proof  of  this  lies  in  the  fact 
that  the  temples  of  other  gods  also  (as  well  as  Athena) 
are  in  the  Acropolis,  and  those  without  are  situated 
rather  toward  this  part  of  the  city '  —  the  temple  of 
Olympian  Zeus,  the  Pythium,  the  temple  of  Earth,  and 
the  temple  of  Dionysus  in  the  Marshes,  in  whose 
honour  the  older  Dionysia  are  celebrated  in  the  month 
Anthesterion,  according  to  the  custom  still  observed  by 
the  Ionians  who  came  from  Athens.  And  other  ancient 
temples  are  situated  in  this  region  ;  "  and  the  fountain 
Callirrhoe  or  Enneacrunus,  being  near,  is  used  by 
the  early  inhabitants  for  most  important  purposes.2 
"  And  because  of  the  ancient  occupation  of  this  district 
the  Acropolis  is  still  called  the  City  (Polis)  by  the 
Athenians." 

In  this  passage  Thucydides  makes  two  distinct 
statements,  and  quotes  evidence  to  prove  them:  (1)  that 
the  early  city  was  mainly  in  the  Acropolis ;  (2)  that  such 
portion  of  it  as  was  outside  the  Acropolis  lay  to  the 
south. 

The  proof  of  the  first  statement  is  simple,  and  consists 
of  the  facts  that  early  shrines  existed  on  the  Acropolis, 

1  I.e.  to  the  south  ;  it  is  the  interpretation  of  this  clause  that  is  most  disputed. 
See  below.  2  See  Note  I  a. 


i42  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

and  that  the  Acropolis  was  still  in  Thucydides'  time 
called  "  the  city."  So  far  there  is  no  dispute.  But  the 
rest  of  the  passage  has  led  to  much  discussion.  The 
usual  interpretation  is  simple  and  obvious:  it  identifies 
the  Olympieum  and  the  Pythium  as  the  well-known 
temples  near  the  Ilissus,  and  the  Enneacrunus  as  the 
spring  close  to  them  in  the  river  bed;  it  places  the  Dio- 
nysium  in  the  Marshes  just  to  the  south  of  the  great 
Theatre,  and  identifies  the  shrine  of  Earth  with  that 
mentioned  by  Pausanius  near  the  Olympieum.  All  these 
are  to  the  south  or  south-east  of  the  Acropolis,  and  so  fit 
the  simplest  interpretation  of  the  words  of  Thucydides. 
According  to  this  view,  the  historian,  like  Curtius  and 
others  in  modern  times,  regarded  the  valley  south  of 
the  Acropolis  as  the  centre  of  Athenian  civic  life  in 
early  times.  In  this  he  may  have  been  mistaken;  he 
had  not  the  advantage  of  seeing  some  of  the  evidence 
that  has  come  from  recent  excavations ;  but  his  opinion 
is  clearly  expressed  and  intelligible. 

The  other  theory  about  the  passage,  which  is  advo- 
cated by  Professor  Dbrpfeld,  regards  this  interpretation 
as  inconsistent  with  actual  facts,  and  attempts  to  recon- 
cile the  statements  of  Thucydides  with  a  different 
system  of  Athenian  topography.  The  main  objections 
to  the  current  interpretation  are  the  following:  — 

(i)  The  Olympieum  and  the  Pythium  beside  the 
Ilissus  are  too  far  from  the  Acropolis  to  be  included 
within   the    limits   of   the    primitve   city. 

(2)  The  temple  of   Dionysus  in  the   Marshes  was  not, 


THE   TOWN    BEFORE   THE   PERSIAN    WARS  143 

according  to  Professor  Dbrpfeld,  to  the  south  of  the 
Acropolis  near  the  Theatre,  where,  indeed,  he  denies 
that  marshes  could  ever  have  existed. 

(3)  The  fountain  Callirrhoe  in  the  Ilissus  is  too  far 
off  to  be  mentioned  as  near  to  the  primitive  city;  and 
moreover,  a  position  of  Enneacrunus  near  the  Ilissus 
cannot  be  reconciled  with  the  description  of  Pausanius. 

Accordingly  Professor  Dbrpfeld  proposes  a  solution 
which  avoids  all  these  three  objections  ;  he  says  :  — 

(1)  The  Olympieum  and  Pythium  mentioned  by 
Thucydides  are  not  those  near  the  Ilissus,  but  earlier 
ones,  close  under  the  Acropolis ;  the  Pythium  he  identi- 
fies with  the  cave  of  Apollo  in  the  north-west  face  of 
the  Acropolis  rock. 

(2)  The  temple  of  Dionysus  in  the  Marshes  is  to  be 
identified  with  an  early  precinct  of  Dionysus,  containing 
a  wine-press,  an  altar,  and  a  small  temple,  which  has 
been  found  in  Professor  Dorpfeld's  excavations  close 
under  the   Areopagus. 

(3)  The  fountain  Callirrhoe  must  be  identified  with 
one  of  the  springs  in  the  Pnyx  Hill  facing  the  Acropo- 
lis, and  Enneacrunus  is  the  termination  of  the  aque- 
duct built  by  Pisistratus  to  supersede  this  scanty  supply. 

Each  of  these  three  propositions  requires  careful 
consideration ;  but  before  investigating  them  separately 
and  in  detail,  their  general  relation  to  the  interpretation 
of  the  passage  must  be  understood.  It  is  clear,  in  the 
first  place,  that  the  position  of  the  temples  and  the 
spring,  as  given  by  Professor  Dbrpfeld,  does   not  con- 


M4  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

firm  the  statement  of  Thucydides  that  the  early  city, 
so  far  as  it  was  outside  the  Acropolis,  lay  to  the  south, 
for  they  all  lie  to  the  west  or  northwest  of  the  entrance 
of  the  Acropolis.  This  Professor  Dorpfeld  admits ; 
but  he  says  that  the  evidence  quoted  by  Thucydides 
is  intended  to  prove,  not  that  the  city  outside  the 
Acropolis  lay  to  the  south,  but  that  his  general  state- 
ment is  correct,  as  to  the  early  city  consisting  of  the 
Acropolis  and  its  immediate  surroundings.  Accord- 
ingly Professor  Dorpfeld  would  translate  777)05  tovto  to 
fxepos  7-775  77o'Xea)5,  not  "  in  the  direction  of  this  side  of 
the  city,"  i.e.  the  south,  but  "  toward  this  district  of  the 
city,"  i.e.  the  Acropolis  and  its  surroundings.  There 
are  two  chief  objections  to  this  interpretation :  the 
first,  that  777305  with  the  dative  would  have  been  far 
more  usual  with  this  meaning ;  the  second,  that  if 
such  was  Thucydides'  intention,  he  need  never  have 
mentioned  the  south  at  all ;  it  is  not  required  by  the 
context,  nor  consistent  with  the  evidence  he  produces. 
Before  Professor  Dbrpfeld's  interpretation  is  substi- 
tuted for  the  more  obvious  one,  it  must  be  shown  to 
be  not  only  admissible,  but  to  be  required  by  the  con- 
text or  the  facts  of  the  case ;  we  must  then  return  to 
the  three  topographical  questions  already  indicated. 
(1)  There  is  no  satisfactory  evidence  for  a  second 
Olympieum  and  Pythium.  Strabo,  indeed,  in  mention- 
ing the  altar  of  Zeus  Astrapaios,  from  which  the  light- 
ning was  observed  over  Harma  before  the  despatch  of 
the  sacred  embassy  to  Delphi,  says  that  it  was  situated 


THE   TOWN    BEFORE   THE    PERSIAN    WARS  145 

on  the  wall  between  the  Pythium  and  the  Olympieum  ; ' 
and  the  line  about  these  same  Pythian  lightnings  in 
Euripides'  Ion  certainly  associates  them  with  the  shrine 
of  Apollo,  wo  MaKpaU  or  vtt  "Aspect?,  as  it  is  called  in 
inscriptions  of  Roman  date.  If  we  had  no  other  evi- 
dence as  to  Pythium  or  Olympieum,  we  might  naturally 
have  inferred  that  both  these  temples  were  situated 
at  this  north-west  corner  of  the  Acropolis  rock,  and 
that  the  Pythium  was  identical  with  the  known  shrine 
of  Apollo  in  this  place.  But  it  is  not  disputed  that 
the  temples  usually  known  as  the  Olympieum  and  the 
Pythium  were  situated  by  the  Ilissus ;  we  are  therefore 
forced  to  accept  one  of  two  alternatives :  either  that 
Strabo,  whose  knowledge  of  Athenian  topography  is 
notoriously  slight  and  inaccurate,  must  have  made  some 
mistake,  probably  in  transcribing  from  another  authority, 
or  that  there  were  a  second  Pythium  and  Olympieum 
close  under  the  Acropolis.  Professor  Dorpfeld,  as  we 
have  seen,  prefers  the  second  alternative ;  and  he  would 
quote  in  confirmation  of  it,  not  only  the  passage  in 
Thucydides  that  is  now  under  discussion,  but  also  the 
statement  of  Philostratus,  in  his  life  of  Herodes  Atti- 
cus,  about  the  Panathenaic  ship.  After  describing  this 
sumptuous  structure,  which  was  made  to  advance  over 

1  It  is  often  stated  that  Harma  could  not  be  visible  from  the  region  beside  the 
Ilissus,  where  the  well-known  Pythium  and  Olympieum  are  situated  ;  but  this  is  an 
exaggeration.  The  platform  of  the  Olympieum,  according  to  Kaupert's  map,  is  only 
I  in  50  below  the  ridge  that  intervenes  between  it  and  the  direction  of  Harma;  so 
that  Harma  could  be  visible  from  the  top  of  a  quite  low  wall,  if  no  buildings  inter- 
vened.    Still,  the  place  is  not  a  specially  convenient  one  for  such  observations. 


146  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

the  ground  on  rollers,  drawn  by  unseen  mechanism,  he 
tells  how  it  left  the  Ceramicus,  turned  round  the  Eleu- 
sinium,  passed  along  the  Pelasgicon,  and  reached  the 
Pythium,  where  it  now  rests  at  anchor.  But  I  see  no 
reason  why  this  should  not  mean  the  Pythium  by  the 
Ilissus,  which  was  near  to  the  stadium  and  other  monu- 
ments of  Herodes'  activity.  It  would  have  been  very 
difficult  to  haul  such  a  complicated  structure  up  to  the 
gate  of  the  Acropolis,  and  quite  impossible  to  get  it  any- 
where near  the  shelf  of  rock  by  the  MaxpaL  Pausanias, 
indeed,  mentions  a  Panathenaic  ship  as  set  up  near  the 
Areopagus ;  but  the  order  of  his  description  seems  fatal 
to  identifying  this  ship  as  the  one  set  up  near  the 
Pythium,  even  if  the  Cave  of  Apollo  could  be  so  called ; 
for  he  mentions  first  the  caves  of  Apollo  and  Pan,  then 
the  Areopagus  (which  is  some  distance  off),  and  then 
this  ship.  It  may  be  objected  that  it  is  unlikely  that  there 
were  two  such  ships ;  I  do  not  think  this  is  a  serious  ob- 
jection, for  it  is  evident  Herodes  had  a  new  and  special 
one  made  ;  but  even  if  it  be  admitted,  it  is  surely  far 
less  improbable  than  the  existence  of  two  Pythia  and 
two  Olympiea,  mentioned  by  writers  of  all  periods,  yet 
never  distinguished.  Thucydides  himself  mentions  the 
Pythium,  in  VI.  54.  6,  without  further  definition,  mean-  ■ 
ing  the  Pythium  by  the  Ilissus,  where  the  inscription  he 
quotes  in  that  passage  has  actually  been  found.  Where 
there  is  danger  of  confusion,  as  in  the  ease  of  the  Dio- 
nysium,  Thueydides  is  careful  to  state  which  of  two 
shrines    he    means;    and  such   a   clear  definition    would 


THE   TOWN    BEFORE   THE    PERSIAN    WARS 


147 


have  been  doubly  needful  in  the  case  of  a  Pythium  and 
Olympieum,  since  the  names  are  already  specialised. 
The  analogy  of  the  many  churches  dedicated,  e.g.,  to 
St.  Mary  in  a  modern  town  is  not  a  true  one ;  it  would 
be  fairer  to  quote  dedications  to,  e.g.,  Our  Lady  of 
Loretto ;  and  if  two  such  existed  in  a  town,  we  cannot 


District  of  Limn.*:. 
Acropolis  to  left,  Olympieum  and  Stadium  to  right. 

imagine  any  writer  quoting  one  of  them  without  dis- 
tinction as  topographical  evidence.  It  is  a  fair  infer- 
ence from  all  this  that  the  first  alternative  in  the 
explanation  of  the  passage  of  Strabo  is  the  true  one ; 
he  was  mistaken,  and  with  him  disappears  the  only 
independent  evidence  for  a  second  Pythium  and  Olym- 
pieum, which  we  may  therefore  reject  as  in  the  highest 
degree  improbable.      It  follows  that  the  Olympieum  and 


148  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

Pythium  mentioned  by  Thucydides  must  here,  as  else- 
where, be  the  well-known  temples  near  the   Ilissus. 

(2)  The  temple  of  Dionysus  in  the  Marshes  offers 
a  problem  more  difficult  to  decide.  The  quarter  of 
Limnae  or  the  Marshes  is  generally  placed  by  topo- 
graphers south  of  the  theatre,  but  there  is  little  evidence, 
apart  from  this  passage,  to  confirm  the  theory.  On 
the  other  hand,  I  think  Professor  Dbrpfeld  goes  too 
far  in  denying  that  this  region  can  ever  have  been 
marshy ;  the  Codrus  inscription  proves  that  it  was 
intersected  by  a  great  ditch,  of  which  the  mud  was 
valuable  for  putting  on  land.  It  is,  however,  to  be 
observed  that  Thucydides  expressly  distinguishes  this 
temple  as  associated  with  the  older  Dionysia;  and 
his  object  in  doing  this  is  evidently  to  avoid  confusion 
with  the  better-known  precinct  of  Dionysus  Eleu- 
thereus,  which  adjoined  the  theatre. 

The  early  precinct  of  Dionysus  found  by  Professor 
Dorpfeld  below  the  Areopagus  was  forgotten  and  built 
over  in  Roman  times,  though  some  survival  of  its 
cultus  may  have  been  kept  up  by  the  Iobacchi,  whose 
hall  was  built  above  part  of  the  site.  It  is  hardly 
credible  that  this  fate  could  have  overtaken  a  shrine 
so  important  in  state  religion  as  the  Lenaeum  with  its 
annual  festival  ;  and  the  whole  precinct  is  extremely 
small  for  celebrating,  in  the  flourishing  days  of  Athens, 
such  a  popular  festival  as  the  Lenoea  or  the  older 
Dionysia  in  the  month  Anthesterion.  It  is  to  be  ob- 
served, of    course,    that    the   identity    of    the    Lenaeum 


THE   TOWN    BEFORE   THE   PERSIAN"    WARS  149 

and  the  Dionysium  in  the  Marshes,  though  often  as- 
sumed, has  never  been  proved ;  and  so  it  cannot  be 
used  as  an  argument  on  either  side.  The  words  of 
Thucydides,  however,  show  plainly  that  the  Dionysium 
in  the  Marshes  was  not  identical  with  the  precinct  of 
Dionysus  Eleuthereus  by  the  theatre ;  nor  is  there  any 
very  clear  evidence  to  show  where  it  was. 

(3)  The  evidence  for  the  position  of  Enneacrunus  has 
been  discussed  elsewhere ;  and  we  have  seen  that  there 
is  a  strong  consensus  of  authority  in  favour  of  its  being 
in  the  Ilissus  —  a  consensus  strong  enough  to  outweigh 
the  contrary  evidence  of  Pausanias.  Thucydides'  words 
in  this  passage  would  not  be  difficult  to  reconcile  with 
either  view.  The  spring  in  the  Ilissus  is  close  to  the 
Olympieum  and  Pythium;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  a 
spring  in  the  face  of  the  Pnyx  Hill  would  be  near,  even 
if  the  town  outside  the  Acropolis  were  mostly  situated 
to  the  south.  It  is  not  necessary,  though  it  is  natural, 
to  regard  Thucydides'  quotation  of  Enneacrunus  as 
part  of  the  evidence  he  gives  for  the  city  lying  south ; 
it  might  well  enough  be  in  confirmation  of  his  general 
statements  about  the  early  city. 

It  will  be  seen,  from  this  examination  of  the  dispu- 
table points  in  detail,  that  while  the  evidence  as  to  the 
Dionysium  in  the  Marshes  is  indecisive,  the  Olympieum 
and  the  Pythium  must  be  the  temples  near  the  Ilissus, 
to  the  south-east  of  the  Acropolis,  and  Callirrhoe  in  this 
case  is  to  be  identified  with  the  spring  near  these 
temples.     In   this  way  the   whole  passage   means   what 


150  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

it  appears  to  mean  at  first  sight ;  while,  even  if  it  be 
possible  to  extract  from  the  Greek  a  meaning  consistent 
with  Professor  Dorpfeld's  theories  as  to  Athenian  topo- 
graphy, such  an  interpretation  would  never  occur  to  a 
scholar  unacquainted  with  the  facts.1  It  is  not  relevant 
to  quote  Thucydides'  notorious  obscurity ;  he  is  never 
intentionally  or  unintentionally  misleading,  and  in  this 
passage  he  is  evidently  trying  to  make  his  meaning 
as  clear  as  possible  by  appealing  to  facts  known  to 
his  readers ;  and  it  is  incredible  that  under  these  cir- 
cumstances he  should  express  himself  in  a  way  that 
was  sure  to  be  misunderstood.  Put  in  its  simplest 
form,  his  statement  amounts  to  this,  "  The  early  city 
consisted  of  the  Acropolis  and  the  region  to  the  south 
of  it ;  in  proof  of  this  may  be  quoted  the  position  of 
certain  early  temples  inside  and  outside  the  Acropolis." 
Those  who  hold  with  Professor  Dorpfeld  that  all  the 
temples  here  quoted  as  lying  outside  the  Acropolis 
lay  to  the  west  and  north-west  of  it,  practically  attribute 
to  Thucydides  an  extraordinary  lack  of  logical  clearness 
and  appreciation  of  the  value  of  evidence  —  the  very 
qualities  for  which  the  historian  is  usually  celebrated. 
And  this  is  quite  apart  from  the  grammatical  possibility 
of  justifying  Professor  Dbrpf eld's  interpretation  of  the 
words  in  detail.  These  considerations  compel  us  to  hold 
to  the  usual  interpretation ;  the  only  topographical 
inference  from  it,  beyond  what  can   be  ascertained  inde- 

1  Paa    Dr,   Verrall,  who  says  it  would  have  occurred  to  him.     But  Thucydides 
could   nol   expect  such   ingenuity  in  all  his  readers. 


THE   TOWN    BEFORE   THE    PERSIAN    WARS  151 

pendcntly  from  other  sources,  is  that  the  Dionysium  in 
the  Marshes  was  to  the  south  of  the  Acropolis,  —  where, 
exactly,  we  cannot   say. 

Finally,  if  we  accept  the  traditional  interpretation, 
we  must  see  how  the  objections  raised  against  it  by 
Professor  Dorpfeld  can  be  met. 

(1)  The  position  of  the  Olympieum  and  Pythium 
is  not,  indeed,  near  enough  to  the  Acropolis  for  them 
to  have  been  included  within  the  small  primitive  city. 
But  Thucydides  does  not  say  they  were;  and  it  is  a 
very  common  thing  for  such  shrines  to  lie  outside  city 
walls.  All  Thucydides  says  is  that  their  position  rela- 
tive to  the  primitive  city  is  such  as  to  show  that  it 
lay  to  the  south  of  the  Acropolis ;  and  this  is  true. 

(2)  The  position  of  the  Marshes,  and  of  the  temple 
of  Dionysus  in  them,  is  too  problematic  to  prove  or 
disprove  any  theory. 

(3)  The  fountain  of  Callirrhoe  in  the  Ilissus  is  indeed 
far  off,  and  so  this  objection  carries  some  weight;  but 
the  fact  of  its  use  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  primitive 
city  is  strikingly  confirmed  by  the  statement  of  Herod- 
otus. After  all  it  is  only  about  650  yards  from  the 
nearest  point  of  the  Acropolis,  and  less  still  from  the 
region  south  of  the  Acropolis  which  would  be  included 
in  the  primitive  city,  —  no  very  great  distance  to  go  for 
good  spring  water  in  Greece,  —  and  the  Olympieum 
would  give  shelter  and  protection  on   the   way. 


CHAPTER    V 

EARLY  ATTIC  ART 

The  sack  of  the  Athenian  Acropolis  by  the  Persians 
marks  an  epoch  in  the  architectural  history  of  the  city. 
It  also  marks  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  Attic  art,  as 
known  to  us  at  the  present  day ;  for  the  fragments 
buried  after  the  return  of  the  Athenians,  which  now, 
after  their  recovery,  are  arranged  in  the  museums  of 
modern  Athens,  give  us  a  representative  series  of  pottery, 
of  bronzes,  of  architecture,  and  of  sculpture.  This 
series  can  be  dated  with  certainty  at  its  lower  limit ; 
and,  from  its  completeness  and  the  uniformity  of  char- 
acter which  distinguishes  it,  in  spite  of  minor  differ- 
ences, it  can  give  us  a  good  general  notion  of  the 
artistic  achievements  of  a  Greek  city  before  the  Per- 
sian Wars  —  of  a  city  which,  though  at  this  period  but 
one  of  many  rivals,  was  during  the  succeeding  century 
to  attain,  in  art  as  well  as  in  literature,  an  acknowledged 
preeminence. 

The  only  other  sites  that  can  be  compared  with  the 
.Athenian  Acropolis  in  the  number  and  variety  of  the 
monuments  of  early  Greek  art  that  their  excavation 
has   yielded   are  Olympia  and    Delphi;    but   these   were 

152 


EARLY   ATTIC   ART  153 

both  of  them  common  centres  of  Hellenic  life,  where 
the  various  Greek  states  emulated  one  another  in  the 
richness  of  the  buildings  and  the  offerings  that  they 
dedicated.  At  Athens,  on  the  other  hand,  although 
of  course  foreign  offerings  are  by  no  means  excluded, 
the  great  majority  of  the  buildings  and  dedications 
represent  the  products  of  local  art  and  industry.  It 
is  probable  that,  if  accident  had  preserved  for  us  with 
equal  completeness  the  early  artistic  records  of  many 
other  Greek  cities,  of  Sparta  or  Argos  or  Sicyon,  for 
example,  of  Thebes  or  Chalcis,  of  Miletus  or  of  Syra- 
cuse, we  should  find  in  them  almost,  if  not  quite,  as 
interesting  a  series.  But  it  is  peculiarly  fortunate  for 
us  that,  if  only  one  city  was  to  yield  us  so  full  a  record 
of  its  early  art,  that  city  should  be  Athens;  for  we 
can  thus  follow  the  continuity  of  its  development  from 
the  earliest  to  the  latest  times,  and  can  see  the  same 
national  characteristics  again  and  again  asserting  them- 
selves under  changing  conditions  at  home  and  under 
varying  influences  from  abroad.  It  is  not  only  the 
excavations  of  the  Acropolis  that  have  contributed  to 
our  knowledge  of  early  Attic  art ;  the  early  ceme- 
teries of  Athens  and  Attica  have  also  yielded  a  great 
number  of  antiquities,  especially  pottery.  The  great 
cemetery  of  the  Ceramicus,  just  outside  the  Dipylon 
Gate,  in  particular,  contained  an  immense  number  of 
vases  of  all  periods,  not  only  placed  within  the  graves, 
but  also  set  up  as  monuments  above  them,  just  as 
the  same  cemetery  has,  for   later   times,   given    us    the 


i54  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

unrivalled    series    of    the    Athenian    sculptured     tomb- 
stones. 

From  about  the  eighth  to  the  fifth  century  B.C.,  it  is 
the  pottery  which  is,  in  some  ways,  the  most  charac- 
teristic product  of  Attic  art  and  handicraft,  and  that 
offers  us  the  most  continuous  record  of  development. 
We  have,  indeed,  records  of  a  much  earlier  time,  in  the 
vases  and  fragments  of  Mycenaean  type  that  have  been 
found  among  the  remains  of  the  same  period  on  the 
Acropolis,  and  in  tombs  like  those  of  Spata,  of  Menidi, 
and  of  Thoricus.  But  these  do  not,  so  far  as  we  can 
judge  at  present,  show  any  peculiar  local  character- 
istics, other  than  those  that  belong  to  the  whole  class 
of  "  Mycenaean  "  antiquities  in  Greece ;  much  of  them 
may  be  of  foreign  importation.  Still  less  are  the  yet 
earlier  prehistoric  fragments  of  pottery  that  have  been 
found  in  Athens  to  be  regarded  as  specifically  Attic ; 
rather,  they  belong  to  a  common  stock  which  extends 
all  round  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  It  is  when  we  come 
to  the  geometrical  period  that  the  potters  of  the  Ce- 
ramicus,  the  Athenian  "  Potters'  Field,"  first  vindicate 
for  Athens  the  position  which  it  always  afterwards 
retained  in  the  history  of  Greek  ceramic  art.  The 
"  Dipylon  "  vases,  as  they  arc  generally  called  from 
the  fact  that  the  majority  of  them  have  been  found 
in  the  cemetery  outside  the  Dipylon  Gate,  are  not, 
indeed,  in  their  simpler  examples,  essentially  different 
from  geometrical  vases  found  elsewhere  on  the  Greek 
mainland    and    the     /Fgcan    Islands.      They    show    the 


EARLY    ATTIC    ART  155 

same  rigid  patterns  such  as  might  be  drawn,  the 
straight  lines  with  a  ruler,  the  curved  with  a  compass; 
the  same  predilection  for  varieties  of  the  "  key  pattern," 
from  a  simple  zigzag  up  to  an  elaborate  meander,  and 
for  concentric  circles,  or  circles  joined  by  sloping 
tangents,  in  contrast  to  the  free  and  flowing  lines  of 
Mycenaean  decoration.  Even  the  friezes  of  aquatic 
birds  and  of  gazelle-like  animals,  perhaps  ibexes,  are 
to  be  found  outside  Athens;  and  so  is  the  rigid  divi- 
sion of  the  whole  field  of  ornamentation  into  a  series 
of  zones,  the  broader  ones  divided  up  into  panels  like 
the  metopes  and  trigiyphs  of  a  Doric  temple.  The 
most  characteristic  features  of  the  Attic  or  Dipylon 
variety  of  geometrical  vases  are  the  following:  their 
form  is  usually  either  narrow  and  very  high,  especially 
in  the  neck,  or  else  of  a  squat  cylindrical  shape,  usually 
with  a  flat  lid  and  handles  modelled  in  the  form  of 
horses ;  they  are  frequently  of  enormous  size,  especially 
those  intended  to  be  set  up  as  monuments  over  tombs. 
These  large  vases  usually  have  very  high  conical  bases, 
and  their  handles  are  usually  placed  in  horizontally 
set  pairs  on  each  side ;  the  projection  between  each 
pair  is  sometimes  shaped  and  painted  to  represent 
the  head  of  an  ibex,  to  which  the  handles  serve  as 
horns.  It  is,  however,  the  subjects  represented  on 
the  Dipylon  vases  that  give  them  their  chief  interest. 
Men  and  horses  are  frequently  figured,  both  in  a  con- 
ventional geometrical  style  of  drawing  that  unduly  elon- 
gates the  limbs  and  makes  the  waist  unnaturally  slim  ; 


i56 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


the  upper  part  of  the  human  body  is  usually  a  mere 
triangle,  except  when  it  is  covered  by  a  Boeotian  shield ; 
the  head  is  almost  birdlike  in  form.  The  scenes  are 
for  the  most  part  appropriate  to  the  destination  of  the 

vases;  funeral  proces- 
sions are  a  favourite  sub- 
ject, and  are  worked  out 
with  an  amount  of  detail 
which  seems  almost  in- 
consistent with  the  primi- 
tive nature  of  the  draw- 
ing. We  sometimes  see 
the  corpse  resting  on  a 
hearse  which  is  mounted 
on  wheels,  and  over- 
shadowed by  a  gorgeous 
canopy.  Around  and 
beneath  it  are  mourners, 
men  and  women,  with 
their  hands  to  their  heads  in  the  conventional  attitude 
of  grief.  The  cortege  is  accompanied  by  numerous 
chariots,  and  another  frieze  often  contains  a  band  of 
chariots  only,  which  may  be  an  allusion  to  the  chariot 
races  which  usually  formed  a  part  of  funeral  games. 
Another  favourite  subject  on  Dipylon  vases  is  the  ship 
with  its  banks  of  rowers,  sometimes  on  a  very  elaborate 
and  extensive  scale,1  and  even  scenes  of  naval  combat. 
These  vases,  in  spite  of  the  crudeness  and  convention- 

1  As  in  the  case  published  l>y  Mr.  Murray  mJ.H.S.  XIX.  PI.  VIII. 


Dipylon  Vase,  with  Funeral, 


EARLY    ATTIC    ART 


i57 


ality  of  their  drawing,  show  us  some  of  the  most  exten- 
sive representations  of  scenes  from  actual  life  that  arc 
known  to  us  in  Greek  art ;  mythological  scenes  are 
unusual  upon  Dipylon  vases.1  Thus,  so  far  as  the  choice 
of  subject  is  concerned,  the  Dipylon  vase  is  in  the  same- 
stage  of  artistic  development  that  we  see  in  the  Homeric 
description  of  the  shield  of  Achilles,  though  the  tech- 
nique implied  by  that  description  finds  closer  analogies 
elsewhere. 

The  period  to  which  the  Dipylon  vases  must  be 
assigned  can  be  ascertained  with  some  degree  of 
exactness,  especially  as  to  its  lower  limit.  Certain 
tombs  excavated  near  the  Dipylon  in  1891  contained 
not  only  vases  of  characteristic  Dipylon  ware,  but  also 
some  foreign  importations,  including  two  small  por- 
celain lions  of  Egyptian  manufacture.  These  lions  can 
be  dated  from  their  fabric,  and  from  the  hieroglyphics 
with  which  they  are  inscribed,  to  the  age  of  the  Saitic 
Dynasty,  —  that  is  to  say,  to  the  seventh  century  b.c.2 
It  follows  that  the  tombs  in  question  cannot  belong  to 
an  earlier  date  than  this  ;  they  cannot  be  later,  because 
we  have,  from  the  sixth  century  onward,  a  continuous 
succession  of  the  Attic  fabrics  that  follow  the  disappear- 
ance of  the  Dipylon  ware.  The  earlier  limit  of  the 
Dipylon  period  is  not  so  easy  to  fix.  Fragments  of 
geometrical  vases,   indistinguishable    from    the    Dipylon 

1  Perhaps  the  only  example  is  the  vase  mentioned  in  the  last  note. 

2  This  date  is  confirmed  by  both  Professor  Petrie  (see  J.H.S.  XII.  p.  338,  note) 
and  by  M.  Naville  (Bui/.  Corr.  Hell.  1893,  p.  189). 


158  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

type,  have  been  found  on  various  sites  in  Greece  together 
with  late  examples  of  Mycenaean  pottery ;  but  even  this 
fact  does  not  give  us  a  clear  criterion,  for,  although  we 
know  the  flourishing  age  of  the  Mycenaean  civilisation 
in  Greece  to  have  been  about  1400-1200  B.C.,  it  is  by  no 
means  certain  how  long  the  later  stages  of  Mycenaean 
art  lasted   on  before   its  final  extinction. 

The  origin  of  the  Dipylon  fabric  and  the  history  of  its 
naturalisation  in  Athens  are  among  the  most  puzzling  of 
artistic  problems ;  and  recent  excavation  has  not  con- 
tributed much  to  their  solution.  For  we  cannot  as  yet 
trace  the  stages  by  which  it  was  evolved,  whether  by 
growth  from  some  single  and  original  type  of  ornamenta- 
tion, or  by  a  gradual  transformation  of  some  other  decora- 
tive system.  In  either  case  we  find  the  Dipylon  style 
already  developed  into  a  complete  system  when  it  first 
occurs  in  Attica,  in  succession  to  Mycenaean  pottery. 
The  usual  explanation  of  such  a  phenomenon  is  the 
intrusion  of  foreign  imports  or  foreign  influence,  if  not 
an  alien  immigration  or  conquest.  The  known  history 
of  the  Athenians,  who  prided  themselves  on  their  con- 
tinuous autochthony,  precludes  the  latter  possibility. 
And  if  foreign  import  or  influence  be  assumed,  we 
have  still  to  find  the  source  of  that  influence,  for, 
although  geometrical  pottery  of  a  similar  nature  is 
found  elsewhere,  it  has  nowhere  as  yet  been  found  in 
sufficient  quantity  or  in  a  primitive  enough  form  for 
US  to  be  able  to  trace  its  origin.  It  is  possible  that 
future   excavations  may  throw  more   light   on   this  ques- 


EARLY   ATTIC    ART 


159 


tion ;  for  the  present  we  must  be  content  with  the  fact 
that  the  Dipylon  style  became  and  remained  for  some 
time  characteristic  of  the  Attic  potters,  and  that  they 
treated  it  with  a  vigour  and  originality  that  entitled 
them  to  claim  it  as  their  own,  from  whatever  source  it 
was  ultimately  derived.  Toward  the  end  of  its  Attic 
development  it  became  merged  in  a  new  style  which  is 
commonly  known  as  Phaleric,  because  the  best-known 
examples  of  it  have  been  found  at  Phalerum.  This 
ware  is,  for  the  most  part,  of  a  smaller  and  more  deli- 
cate type,  though  a  few  larger  vases  exist.  It  is  dis- 
tinguished from  the  Dipylon  pottery  mainly  by  the  fact 
that  it  introduces  motives,  both  animal  and  decorative, 
which  are  of  Oriental  origin.  It  thus  corresponds  more 
or  less  in  period  to  the  so-called  Oriental  style  of  pottery 
which  we  find  elsewhere — particularly  at  Corinth  and  at 
Rhodes,  and  on  the  coast  of  Asia  Minor.  The  ornamen- 
tation of  this  latter  pottery  is  probably  derived  from  an 
imitation  of  Oriental  woven  fabrics;  it  borrows  from  the 
same  source  the  rosette,  the  band  of  lotus,  the  palmette, 
and  other  similar  devices  imitative  of  flowers  or  plants ; 
and  it  mingles  with  them  the  fantastic  winged  crea- 
tions that  are  familiar  in  Oriental  art,  —  gryphons  and 
sphinxes,  and  human-headed  birds  (sirens),  as  well  as 
lions,  stags,  boars,  dogs,  and  other  animals.  The 
"  Oriental "  type  of  Greek  pottery  also  has  a  way  of 
filling  the  field  around  the  figures  with  various  orna- 
ments, doubtless  in  imitation  of  the  woven  fabrics  in 
which  the  threads  of  warp  and  woof  had  to  be  crossed 


i6o 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


as  often  as'  possible,  and  so  any  expanse  of  a  simple 
plain  colour  had  to  be  avoided.  This  "  Oriental "  style 
never  became  indigenous  in  Athens,  as  it  did  in  many 
other    Greek    cities    at    this    time.     But    it    exercised   a 

strong  influence  on  the 
Phaleric  ware,  which,  while 
retaining  the  technique  and 
often  the  shape  of  the 
Dipylon  vases,  substituted 
motives  derived  from  an 
Oriental  source,  either 
wholly  or  in  part,  for  the 
traditional  ornaments  and 
subjects  of  Dipylon  ware. 
The  Phaleric  pottery,  how- 
ever, still  retained  some  of 
the  most'  characteristic  sub- 
jects of  the  Dipylon  ware, 
—  men  on  foot  and  in  char- 
iots, armed  warriors,  some- 
times in  combat,  and  men 
and  women  in  the  choric 
dances.  The  human  fig- 
ures are  drawn  with  more 
freedom,  though  still  in  a  conventional  manner ;  but  the 
predilection  for  scenes  from  daily  life  continues  to  be 
characteristic  of  the  Attic  potter.  The  period  to  which 
the  Phaleric  pottery  belongs  can  be  fairly  accurately 
defined.      It  succeeds  the   Dipylon  style,  which  was,  as 


Amphora  from  Hymettus. 

From  yahrbuch  des  dcutschen  Instituts. 


EARLY  ATTIC    ART  161 

we  have  seen,  still  in  full  activity  in  the  seventh  cen- 
tury b.c.  Yet  it  has  no  painted  inscriptions,  and  only 
one  incised  inscription  is  known  at  present  as  occur- 
ring upon  it  —  and  that  an  inscription  which  shows  us  the 
Attic  alphabet  in  a  more  primitive  form  than  is  other- 
wise recorded.  It  seems  to  disappear  before  the  fabrics 
which  are  characteristic  of  the  beginning  of  the  sixth 
century.  From  these  facts  it  seems  clear  that  the 
Phaleric  ware  must  be  assigned  to  the  closing  years 
of  the  seventh  century  b.c.  ;  there  is  no  need  to  give  it 
any  great  extension  in  time.  It  would  thus  coincide 
with  the  age  of  the  rise  of  tyrants  in  Greece  generally, 
and  with  the  time  of  Cylon's  attempt  at  tyranny  in 
Athens  and  Draco's  legislation.  The  modification,  in 
fact,  that  came  over  the  Dipylon  style  at  this  time  is 
a  part  of  the  general  awakening  to  new  ideas  and  new 
impulses,  and  is  contemporary  with  the  rise  of  free 
sculpture  in  Greece,  as  contrasted  with  purely  decorative 
art.  At  first  we  find  the  new  influences  merely  modify- 
ing the  Dipylon  ware  into  the  Phaleric,  but  very  soon  we 
notice  an  essential  change,  which  led  to  the  supremacy 
of  the  Attic  potters.  This  change  consists  partly  in 
the  use  of  superior  clay  and  improved  pigments,  partly 
in  the  adoption  of  a  freer  and  more  vigorous  style  of 
drawing.  It  is  now  that  the  beautiful  red  clay  of  the 
Athenian  Ceramicus  first  gains  its  true  value,  being  used, 
not  only  for  the  general  substance  of  the  vases,  but  also 
for  the  more  finely  ground  slip  that  forms  their  visible 
surface,  and  that  has  ever  since  been  regarded  as  the  ideal 


i62  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

"  terra-cotta  "  colour.  A  fine  contrast  to  this  red  colour 
is  offered  by  the  black  varnish  paint,  with  its  even,  glossy 
surface ;  the  two  in  various  combinations  produce  the 
black-figured  and  red-figured  vases.  Neither  of  these 
two  classes  is,  of  course,  peculiar  to  Athens,  nor  was 
the  black-figured  technique  probably  invented  there ; 1 
but  the  quality  both  of  clay  and  of  pigment  soon 
brought  Athens  to  the  front,  and  created  a  demand 
for  her  vases  throughout  the  civilised  world.  Some- 
times the  red  colour  of  the  earth  forms  the  ground 
over  the  whole  vase,  and  the  figures  and  orna- 
mentation are  merely  drawn  upon  it  in  black  silhou- 
ette ;  sometimes  the  greater  part  of  the  surface  of 
the  vase  is  covered  over  with  lustrous  black  var- 
nish, panels  only  of  red  being  left  for  the  insertion 
of  the  black  figures.  Some  of  the  earlier  examples  of 
these  Attic  black-figured  vases  have  merely  zones  of 
animals,  one  below  another,  such  as  we  may  see  on 
Corinthian,  Rhodian,  and  other  fabrics ;  but  the  Attic 
predilection  for  scenes  with  human  figures  soon  asserted 
itself  in  this  technique  also.  One  of  the  finest  early 
examples  is  the  enormous  vase,  found  in  the  Ceramicus, 

1  The  older  view  —  still  held  by  some  —  is  that  in  this  matter  Athens  was  indebted 
ti>  Corinth;  some  even  go  so  far  as  to  call  the  early  Attic  vases  Corintho-Attic. 
Bui  tin'  influence  of  Corinth  mi  Athens,  and  the  counter-influence  <>f  Athens  on 
Corinth,  are  matters  <>n  which  much  difference  of  opinion  may  and  does  exist. 
There  is  no  reason  why  the  same  tendency  should  not  have  been  operating 
simultaneously,  owing  to  the  constant  interchange  of  exported  wares,  not  only 
in  Corinth  and  Athens,  but  in  many  othei    i  ities  which  possess  characteristic  fabrics 

of  early   black-figured    pottery.     And,  i -eover,  many    early    black-figured   vases 

have  been  found  on  the  eastern  side  of  Attica,  and  at  Eretria,  which  show  no 
Corinthian  affinities,  and  may  well  have  influenced  the  potters  of  Athens. 


EARLY   ATTIC    ART  163 

and  having,  as  its  principal  subject,  the  Gorgons  pur- 
suing Perseus  —  who,  curiously  enough,  is  not  repre- 
sented—  and  their  decapitated  sister  sinking  in  death; 
on  its  neck  is  a  group  of  Heracles  and  the  Centaur, 
Nessus  (Nero?).  It  is  to  be  noted  that  in  both  these 
cases  the  subject  chosen  is  only  a  part  of  a  well-known 
tale,  and  that  the  rest  is  not  even  implied  by  the 
presence  of  Perseus  in  the  one  case  or  of  Deianira 
in  the  other.  The  decapitation  of  Medusa  by  Perseus, 
which  preceded  his  flight,  and  the  violence  of  the 
Centaur  to  Deianira,  which  brought  on  him  his  pun- 
ishment, are  both  familiar  subjects  in  early  art ;  if  they 
had  been  present  on  the  same  vase,  we  might  have 
understood  the  absence  of  one  of  the  principal  charac- 
ters in  each  of  the  scenes  artistically  depicted.  As  it 
is,  one  is  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  the  vase  painter 
has  chosen  for  the  decoration  of  his  vase  two  scenes 
which,  in  themselves,  are  incomplete  and  only  partially 
intelligible,  and  which  must  have  belonged  to  a  series 
of  well-known  subjects  that  completed  and  illustrated 
one  another.  The  existence  of  such  a  repertoire,  at 
such  a  time,  might  seem  strange  if  we  considered  only 
these  Attic  vases ;  but,  as  we  shall  see,  there  were 
already  other  branches  of  decorative  art  that  had  a 
whole  stock  of  such  subjects  available. 

The  most  complete  contrast  to  this  vase,  with  its  two 
scenes  executed  on  a  large  scale,  is  offered  by  the  famous 
Francois  vase  in  Florence,  which  alone  supplies  us  with 
a  whole  gallery  of  mythological  pictures.     It  is  signed 


164  ANCIENT  ATHENS 

by  Clitias  as  potter  and  Ergotimus  as  painter ;  and  their 
names,  as  well  as  the  inscriptions  attached  to  all  the 
figures,  which  are  in  Attic  characters,  show  that  the 
vase  was  made  in  Athens,  though  it  was  found  in  Italy. 
These  two  large  vases  may  be  taken  as  representative  of 
two  main  types  of  early  Attic  black-figured  ware.  The 
majority  of  the  vases  of  this  ware  found  both  in  Athens 
and  outside  it  are  smaller  and  less  elaborate ;  they  tend 
to  conform  to  a  limited  number  of  well-known  shapes, 
among  which  the  hydria  and  the  amphora  are  the  com- 
monest for  the  large  classes,  the  jug  or  cenochoe,  the 
cylix,  and  the  lecythus  for  the  smaller.  It  is  impossible 
here  to  give  even  a  sketch  of  the  development  of  black- 
figured  vase-painting  in  Athens.  It  was  customary  in 
this  and  the  succeeding  period  for  the  chief  potters  to 
sign  their  work,  and  any  study  of  vases  must  begin  with 
a  careful  and  detailed  observation  of  the  style  and  idio- 
syncrasies of  the  various  artists ;  such  a  study  is  only 
possible  with  the  help  of  numerous  accurate  illustrations, 
or,  better  still,  of  an  extensive  collection  of  the  vases 
themselves.  Around  the  signed  vases  the  .rest  will 
group  themselves  into  classes  of  which  the  date  and 
character  can  be  readily  distinguished.  All  that  is  pos- 
sible here  is  to  note  the  general  tendencies  of  the  Attic 
potters,  and  the  periods  of  their  work. 

The  black  silhouette  in  which  the  figures  were  first 
drawn  was  made  by  the  finer  potters  of  this  period  little 
more  than  a  ground  to  carry  elaborate  designs  in  incised 
lines,  and  also  in  purple   and  white  pigment.     The  par- 


EARLY   ATTIC   ART  165 

allel  wavy  lines  that  indicate  the  hair  of  men  or  beasts, 
and  the  rich  diaper  pattern  of  drapery,  are  rendered  with 
a  delicacy  more  appropriate  to  fine  metal  work  than  to 
pottery ;  indeed,  the  technique  used  is  rather  that  of  the 
bronze  worker  or  goldsmith.  We  shall  see  later  that  this 
extreme  love  of  elaboration  and  delicacy,  often  to  the 
detriment  of  strength  and  vigour,  is  characteristic  of 
other  branches  of  art  also  during  this  period  at  Athens. 
It  was,  however,  also  an  age  of  experiments  ;  and  many 
different  methods  for  adding  details  to  the  untractable 
black  silhouette  were  tried.  One  method  was  to  cover 
the  red  clay  with  a  white  pigment,  against  which  the 
black  figures  stood  out  still  more  clearly  ;  this,  in  foreign 
examples,  had  already  been  associated  with  the  practice 
of  leaving  part  of  the  figures  —  especially  the  faces  —  in 
outline ;  the  effect  was  not  unlike  that  produced  on  the 
Attic  vases  themselves  by  the  addition  of  white  pigment 
over  the  black  on  the  faces  and  other  parts  of  female 
figures.  Within  the  outlines  it  was  then  possible  to  add 
details  by  lines  drawn  in  black  or  colour,  and  not  incised. 
From  this  system  was  evolved  the  technique  of  painting 
in  outline  on  a  white  ground,  which  is  among  the  most 
beautiful  and  characteristic  of  those  used  by  Attic  pot- 
ters about  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century.  The  black 
silhouette  figures  on  a  white  ground,  which  are  com- 
monest on  lecythi,  probably  continued  to  be  made  even 
in  the  fifth  century,  and  are  often  of  very  careless  work ; 
the  evolution  of  the  polychrome  lecythus  belongs  to  the 
period  after  the  Persian  Wars.    Another  experiment,  which, 


166  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

however,  did  not  lead  to  any  very  great  results,  was  the 
painting  of  figures  in  opaque  white  pigment  over  the 
black  varnish  of  the  ground ;  the  interest  of  this  experi- 
ment lies  chiefly  in  the  fact  that  it  at  least  inverts  the 
apparent  values,  and  shows  us  light  figures  against  a 
dark  ground. 

The  great  change  from  black-figured  to  red-figured 
pottery  produces  the  same  result  in  a  simpler  and  more 
satisfactory  manner.  Here,  instead  of  drawing  the  fig- 
ures in  black  silhouette,  the  artist  merely  draws  the  out- 
line of  the  figures,  and  then  fills  in  the  whole  of  the 
background  with  black  varnish-paint,  so  that  the  figures 
stand  out  in  the  beautiful  red  colour  of  the  Attic  clay. 
On  this  red  surface  it  is  then  possible  to  add  all  details 
with  a  brush  or  pen  dipped  in  the  same  varnish,  or  in  a 
diluted  mixture  of  it  for  the  lighter  lines.  This  is  the 
technique  in  which  the  majority  of  the  finest  examples 
of  Greek  ceramic  art  was  executed.  It  used  to  be 
generally  supposed  that  these  examples  must  be  about 
contemporary  with  the  masterpieces  of  Greek  sculp- 
ture of  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century;  and  such  a 
statement  will  actually  be  found  in  some  of  the  older 
handbooks.  When,  however,  one  looks  at  the  style 
of  the  vases  themselves,  their  rich  Ionic  draperies, 
their  elaboration  of  detail,  it  is  easy  to  realise  that 
the  earlier  red-figured  vases  are  contemporary  with  the 
pre-Persian  sculpture  which  we  can  see  in  the  Acropo- 
lis Museum;  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  there  have  been 
found,  in   the  Acropolis  excavations,  among   the   rubbish 


EARLY   ATTIC    ART  167 

buried  after  the  Persian  sack  of  Athens,  not  only  frag- 
ments of  the  earliest  red-figured  vases,  but  also  por- 
tions of  painted  vases  with  the  names  of  the  great 
masters  of  vase-painting,  Euphronios,  Duris,  Brygos,  and 
Hieron.  As  most  of  these  fragments  must  be  earlier 
than  480  B.C.,  it  follows  that  these  masters  were  already 
working  in  the  earlier  decades  of  the  fifth  century, 
and  that  we  must  assign  the  earlier  examples  of  red- 
figured  vase-painting  to  the  closing  years  of  the  sixth 
century  b.c  The  chronology  of  vase-painting,  as  thus 
established  upon  clear  external  evidence,  shows  that  the 
development  of  the  art,  from  early  black-figured  ware 
down  to  the  first  red-figured,  occupied  a  much  shorter 
period  than  has  sometimes  been  thought  probable ;  but 
this  rapid  advance  is  by  no  means  incredible,  when 
we  consider  the  extraordinarily  quick  development  in 
politics  and  literature,  no  less  than  in  art,  that  marks 
the  century  preceding  the    Persian   Wars. 

If  we  found  it  impossible  to  follow  in  any  detail  the 
development  of  vase-painting  in  black-figured,  still  more 
is  this  the  case  with  red-figured  vases,  since  the  potters, 
as  their  art  improves,  advance  in  individuality  and  free- 
dom. Those  who  wish  to  study  the  subject  must  be 
referred  to  the  numerous  special  treatises  that  have 
been  devoted  to  it.1  In  the  earlier  examples  we  see 
little  more  than  an  inversion  of  the  black-figured  tech- 

1  For  a  bibliography  of  them  see  Huddilston,  Lessons  from  Greek  Potterv.  The 
most  important  are  Klein's  Vasen  mit  Meistersignaturen  and  Euphronios,  and  Ilart- 
wig's  Mehtersckalen. 


1 68  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

nique,  with  the  same  love  of  elaborate  detail ;  the  same 
conventions  or  errors  of  drawing  persist ;  for  example, 
the  eye  is  always  drawn  as  if  full-face  when  the  face  is 
in  profile ;  and  the  eyes  of  men  are  rounded,  with 
circular  pupil  and  iris  drawn,  while  those  of  women 
are  mere  narrow  slits ;  here  again  we  shall  find  an 
analogy  in  sculpture.  Just  at  the  beginning  of  the 
fifth  century  we  find  a  stronger  and  more  dignified 
style  coming  into  vogue,  as  it  does  in  sculpture  also. 
The  simpler  Doric  drapery  replaces  the  rich  folds  of 
the  Ionic  chiton  and  peplos,  and  the  drawing  too  be- 
comes more  vigorous  and  bolder,  both  in  what  it 
attempts  and  in  what  it  performs.  The  close  resem- 
blance that  has  been  marked  between  the  drawing  on 
the  finest  of  the  vases  of  Euphronios  and  the  profile  of 
the  Delphi  charioteer,  which  can  be  dated  to  482- 
472  B.C.,  confirms  the  chronology  of  vase-painting  as 
established  by  the  Acropolis  excavations ;  and  the 
metopes  of  the  Athenian  treasury  at  Delphi,  which  was 
dedicated  from  the  spoils  of  Marathon,  also  show  the 
strongest  affinity  of  style  to  the  severer  red-figured  vases. 
Thus  vase-painting,  instead  of  having  a  separate  devel- 
opment of  its  own,  fits  in  exactly  with  what  we  know 
of  contemporary  work  in  bronze  and  marble. 

The  vases  that  have  been  found  in  Athens  come 
mainly,  as  we  have  seen,  from  two  places,  the  Acropolis 
and  the  cemetery  of  the  Ceramicus.  That  is  to  say,  they 
were  either  dedicated  to  the  gods  or  buried  with  the 
dead,  if  not  set  up  as  monuments  over  them.     The  same 


EARLY   ATTIC   ART  169 

two  causes,  dedication  and  burial,  are  responsible  for  tin- 
great  majority  of  the  vases  found  outside  Attica  also ; 
but  the  tombs  have  yielded  by  far  the  richest  harvest, 
and,  naturally,  have  more  frequently  preserved  complete 
examples.  The  museums  of  Europe  are  full  of  black- 
figured  and  red-figured  vases  found  in  the  cemeteries  of 
Etruria;  and  the  finest  of  these  are  nearly  all  of  Attic 
workmanship.  They  thus  testify  to  a  very  extensive 
export  trade  in  pottery  from  Athens  to  Italy.  The  vases 
found  in  Athens  itself  cannot  compare  with  those  found 
in  Italy,  either  for  quantity  or  completeness  of  preserva- 
tion ;  but  some  of  the  fragments  found  on  the  Acropolis 
are  unsurpassed  by  any  in  beauty  of  fabric  and  delicacy 
of  drawing.  No  distinction  can  be  drawn  between  the 
pottery  found  on  the  Acropolis  and  the  similar  vases 
found  in  Etruria;  and  from  this  fact  several  inferences 
may  be  drawn.  It  is  clear,  in  the  first  place,  that  the 
vases  in  question  were  exported  from  Athens ;  and 
although  this  was  generally  admitted  in  the  case  of  the 
finest  examples,  it  was  disputed  by  high  authorities,1 
especially  in  the  case  of  some  of  those  that  showed 
more  careless  drawing,  and  were  supposed  to  be  later, 
possibly  local,  imitations.  Specimens  of  this  more  care- 
less work,  as  well  as  of  the  finer,  have  been  found  in  the 
Acropolis  excavations,  and  so  have  decided  this  question.2 
In  the  second  place,  it  is  evident  that  the  vases  found  in 

1  Especially   by    Brunn,  in   his  Probleme  in   der   Geschichte   der    Vasenmalerei, 
and  elsewhere. 

2  Of  course  there  exist  local  Italian  fabrics  in  imitation  of  Attic  pottery;  but  these 
are  different,  and  can  be  readily  distinguished  in  most  cases. 


i7o  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

Italy  do  not  represent  a  special  ware  prepared  only  for 
the  foreign  market,  but  that  they  were  intended  for  use 
at  home  also  —  in  fact,  that  they  represent  the  ordinary 
output  of  the  Attic  potteries.  The  purposes  for  which 
the  vases  were  made  is  a  question  not  so  easy  to  answer; 
but  we  learn,  again  from  the  discoveries  on  the  Acropo- 
lis, that  they  were  not,  as  has  sometimes  been  supposed, 
made  expressly  for  burying  in  tombs  with  the  dead. 
The  funeral  lecythi  were  made  for  this  purpose ;  but 
ordinary  vases  must  have  been  placed  in  the  tombs  as 
ordinary  articles  of  household  furniture,  else  they  could 
not  have  been  fitting  offerings  to  dedicate  to  the  gods  on 
the  Acropolis.  The  same  inference  may  be  drawn  from 
the  fact  that  there  not  infrequently  appear  upon  vase- 
paintings  vases  resembling  the  one  on  which  the  scene 
is  painted,  in  actual  domestic  use.  Amphorae,  hydriae, 
and  cylices  were  doubtless  used  to  hold  wine  or  water  or 
to  drink  from  ;  and  although  vessels  of  metal  or  of  plain 
pottery  were  perhaps  commoner,  the  former  among  the 
richer  classes,  the  other  among  the  poorer,  there  is  no 
reason  to  suppose  that  the  painted  vases  were  intended 
only  for  ornament  or  for  ceremonial  use. 

Certain  classes  of  vases,  however,  had  special  purposes. 
The  best-known  of  these  are  the  Panathenaic  prize 
amphora.';  although  most  of  the  examples  of  these  that 
survive  belong  to  a  later  age,  they  certainly  existed  in 
the  early  days  of  black-figured  painting.  They  were 
made,  as  Pindar  tells  us,  to  contain  the  oil  from  the 
sacred    olive   trees  of   Athens:  — 


EARLY   ATTIC    ART  i7i 

yuia  SI  KavQtuT<L  irvpi  Kapirbs  e'Aaiu?, 
.    .    .   eV  dyyewv 

epKCfflV  TTUfJi7T0lKl\(H<;. 

This  sacred  oil  was  given  as  a  prize  to  the  victors  in  the 
Panathenaic  games,  in  varying  quantities,  from  140 
amphora'  to  1.  The  Panathenaic  amphora-  always  have 
a  figure  of  Athena  on  one  side,  and  a  representation  of 
the  event  for  which  they  were  given  as  prize  on  the 
other.  It  is  hardly  probable  that  the  victor  in  the  chariot 
race,  for  example,  received  140  of  these  vases.  Origi- 
nally, perhaps,  the  figure  of  Athena  may  have  been  an 
official  guarantee  of  the  genuineness  of  the  oil;  but,  after 
the  first,  it  seems  more  likely  that  the  oil,  which  was  of 
real  commercial  value,  was  stored  in  more  suitable  ves- 
sels, and  that  one  painted  vase,  perhaps,  was  presented 
to  each  victor  as  a  symbol  of  his  prize.  Such  Pan- 
athenaic vases  might  appropriately  enough  be  dedi- 
cated to  a  divinity,  especially  to  the  goddess  in  whose 
honour  the  contest  took  place;  it  might  also  be  set  up 
in  the  victor's  home,  and  be  buried  with  him  in  his 
tomb. 

Almost  any  kind  of  vase  might  be  so  dedicated  or 
buried  ;  the  dedication  would  probably  mean  either  that 
the  vase  itself  or  some  other,  which  it  symbolised,  had 
been  used  in  some  sacrifice  or  religious  ceremony ;  the 
burial  vase  in  its  original  intention  was  probably  for  the 
use  of  the  deceased,  though  this  notion  was  probably 
merged,  in  historical  times,  in  a  more  abstract  idea  of 
doing  him  honour.     Certain  classes  of  vases  were,  how- 


I  72 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


ever,  peculiarly  devoted  to  funeral  use.  The  reference  of 
Aristophanes  to  the  painter, — 

os   rots    veKpoiaL   £ojypu<£tZ   Tas   \r)Kv8ov<;, 

must  refer  to  a  custom  older  than  his  own  time.  The 
lecythus,  though  used  in  life  also,  was  peculiarly  the  vase 
of  the  dead,  probably  because  it  held  the  unguents  used 
for  a  temporary  embalming  before  the  funeral.     The  ala- 

bastron,  a  kindred  form 
of  vase,  served  the  same 
purpose,  as  we  may  re- 
member from  a  familiar 
passage  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament.1 The  lecythus 
was  not  only  placed  in 
the  tomb,  but  small 
lecythi  were  set  upon 
it  outside,  and  some- 
times a  large  one  was 
erected  over  it  as  a  monument.  Imitations  of  these 
were  later  made  in  marble,  and  formed,  as  we  shall 
see,2  a  not  uncommon  kind  of  tombstone. 

We  have  noticed  how  the  Dipylon  vases,  with  repre- 
sentations of  funerals,  were  used  in  early  times  as  monu- 
ments over  tombs.  In  continuation  of  this  tradition  we 
find  a  whole  set  of  interesting  vases,  called  prothesis 
vases  from   the  subject   upon  them,  which   is  usually  the 


Early  Prothesis  Vase,  with  Tomb. 
From  Monument i  dell'  Institute,  VIII.  4,  5. 


1  Mark  xiv.  3,  where  it  is  wrongly  translated  "alabaster  box"  in  the  A.V. 

2  See  Chapter  XL,  "  The  Ceramicus." 


EARLY   ATTIC    ART  173 

"laying  out"  of  the  corpse  surrounded  by  mourners. 
That  these  vases  were  used  as  monuments  is  proved  by 
the  most  satisfactory  evidence :  on  one  of  them  the 
mound  of  a  tomb  is  depicted,  with  a  vase  of  identical 
shape  set  up  on  the  top  of  it.  The  shape  of  the  vases 
varies  slightly,  but  most  of  them  have  a  high  neck  and 
two  long  handles  ;  and  certain  traditional  ornaments,  such 
as  a  snake  around  the  top,  are  usually  preserved.  They 
usually  have  no  bottom,  and  so  libations  poured  into  them 
would  sink  into  the  tomb  over  which  they  were  placed. 
We  see  on  them  various  stages  of  vase-painting,  from 
black-figured  up  to  advanced  red-figured  style.  Another 
series  of  vases,  identical  in  shape  with  these,  has  a  dif- 
ferent set  of  subjects;  they  represent  marriage  ceremo- 
nies, especially  the  bridal  procession  and  the  toilet  of  the 
bride.  And  on  one  of  these  vases  we  see  in  the  procession 
a  maiden  carrying  a  vase  identical  in  shape  with  the  one 
on  which  it  is  painted.1  This  can  be  no  other  than  the 
XovTpocfropos,  the  vessel  in  which  the  water  for  the  bridal 
bath  was  brought  from  Callirrhoe.  Its  resemblance  to  the 
prothesis  vases  and  its  erection  over  the  tomb  might  well 
puzzle  us  but  for  the  clue  given  by  Demosthenes,'  who 
quotes  a  Xovrpofiopos  set  up  over  a  tomb  as  conclusive 
evidence  that  the  deceased  was  unmarried.  It  is  a  fair 
inference  that  all  the  vases  of  this  shape  were  set  up  over 
the  tombs  of  those  who  died  unmarried.  The  symbolism 
is  not  hard  to  understand  for  those  who  remember  the 

1  Mon.  Inst.  X.  34. 

2  Ilpds  Aea>x.  18.     See  Wolters,  Mitth.  Ath.  XVI.  p.  371. 


174  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

familiar  Greek  metaphor  that  those  who  died  unmarried 
had  Hades  for  their  bridegroom  :  — 

ov  yajxoi'  d\\'   'AtSuv   €7rivv/x^>t'8tov. 

These  high  two-handled  vases  were,  as  well  as  the  lecythi, 
later  imitated  in  marble  ;x  and  there  is  little  doubt  that  the 
marble  Xovrpcxfyopos  also  continued  the  same  symbolism. 

The  history  of  decorative  work  in  metal  shows  many 
analogies  to  that  of  vase-painting,  and  has  to  follow  the 
same  stages  of  development.  Here  we  are  concerned 
mainly  with  bronzes,  which  are  associated  with  bone  and 
ivory  carvings  of  a  similar  character;  and  these  bronzes 
have,  for  the  most  part,  been  found  in  the  Acropolis  exca- 
vations.2 They  were  not,  indeed,  so  numerous  as  the 
bronzes  found  at  Olympia.8  But  the  Olympia  bronzes 
serve  to  fill  up  the  gaps  in  the  Athenian  series,  and  to 
explain  many  things  that  would  otherwise  have  been 
isolated  and  inexplicable  fragments.  But  the  finer  work 
found  in  Athens  has  a  quality  of  its  own  beyond  any- 
thing of  the  same  class  at  Olympia,  and  serves  as  an 
epitome  of  the  Attic  style  of  the  period. 

But  little  has  been  found  in  Attica  of  metal  work4 
preceding  the  geometrical  period,  though  ornaments  in 
porcelain  and  other  materials  have  been  found  in  Attica 
at  Spata  and  Menidi,  for  example,  which  show  no  essen- 

1  See  Chapter  XI.  below. 

2  Bather,  J. U.S.  XIII.  232-271  ;  De  Kidder,  Catalogue  des  bronzes  trouves  sur 
l'Acropole  d'Athi 

3  See  Olympia  IV.,  die-  Bronzen  |  Furtwangler). 

*  The  most  important  is  a  set  of  Mycenaean  bronzes  found  in  the  Acropolis;  cf. 

I)c   Kidder,  Op.  <it.   I.  p.  iv. 


EARLY   ATTIC   ART  175 

tial  difference  from  other  objects  of  the  same  period 
found  at  Mycenae  and  elsewhere.  Thus  they  confirm 
the  testimony  of  the  vases  that  Athens,  while  sharing 
the  prevalent  "  Mycenaean  "  civilisation  and  art,  did  not 
strike  out  any  characteristic  line  of  its  own.  In  the 
geometrical  period  we  might  expect  to  find  a  develop- 
ment in  decorative  metal  work  corresponding  to  the 
Dipylon  pottery ;  and  the  Acropolis  excavations  have 
supplied  us  with  some  evidence  to  justify  this  expec- 
tation. There  were  found,  in  the  first  place,  a  great 
number  of  portions  of  tripods  and  other  decorative 
pieces  of  bronze,  with  characteristic  geometrical  designs 
resembling  those  on  the  Dipylon  pottery.  The  designs 
on  these  are  all  incised,  not  raised  in  relief ;  indeed,  the 
bronze  of  which  they  are  made,  being  very  hard  and 
brittle  in  texture,  could  hardly  be  treated  in  any  other 
way.  On  some  of  the  more  elaborate,  and  presumably 
later,  of  these  geometrical  bronzes,  we  find  both  Oriental 
types  of  ornaments,  such  as  rosettes  and  palmettes, 
and  beasts,  leopards  and  boars  for  example,  such  as 
one  sees  on  vases  of  the  "  Oriental  "  style,  and  through 
the  same  influence,  on  Phaleric  ware.  It  is  hardly  a 
rash  inference  that  these  geometric  transitional  bronzes 
are  probably  contemporary,  or  at  least  at  the  same  stage 
of  artistic  development,  as  the  Phaleric  vases. 

Later,  just  as  we  find  the  influence  of  various  foreign 
styles  of  pottery,  "  Oriental  "  and  others,  affecting  the 
early  Attic  black-figured  vases  that  succeed  the  geo- 
metrical style,  so  too  we  find  foreign  bronze  style  and 


176  ANCIENT  ATHENS 

technique  influencing  the  Attic  bronze-worker.  Some 
of  those  foreign  models  have  actually  been  found  on 
the  Acropolis,  including,  on  the  one  hand,  a  Phoenician 
or  Cypriote  bowl  with  a  repousse  decoration  of  winged 
sphinxes  and  other  Oriental  forms,  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  specimens  of  the  very  fine  and  decorative  reliefs 
generally  recognised  as  Argive  or  Argeo-Corinthian. 
The  bronze  of  this  class  of  reliefs  is  of  a  much  finer 
quality,  very  ductile  and  flexible,  and  so  adapted  to 
fine  repousse  work.  We  find  on  the  Acropolis  a  large 
class  of  bronze  reliefs  which  combine  the  characteristics 
of  both  the  geometrical  and  the  Oriental  styles,  combin- 
ing the  use  of  incised  lines  with  a  slight  relief.  On 
this  class  we  find  many  scenes  represented  not  unlike 
those  on  early  vases ;  and  they  may  very  probably 
represent  the  Attic  bronze  work  of  the  sixth  century. 
So  far  we  have  been  concerned  mainly  with  deco- 
rative reliefs.  To  these  must  be  added  a  great  num- 
ber of  ornaments,  handles  of  bowls,  etc.,  some  of  which 
are  very  fine  specimens  of  delicacy  in  workmanship. 
The  finest  of  them,  which  take  the  form  of  figures  in 
the  round,  or  have  such  figures  attached  to  them,  are 
not  to  be  distinguished  artistically  from  the  statuettes ; 
and  these,  as  well  as  fragments  of  larger  figures  in 
bronze,  belong  rather  to  the  general  development  of 
sculpture.  This  slight  sketch  of  decorative  bronze 
work  in  Athens  must  suffice  to  show  that  it  takes 
its  place  beside  vase-painting  as  a  part  of  the  general 
development  of  Attic  art  before  the  Persian-  Wars. 


EARLY   ATTIC    ART  177 

The  Attic  architecture  of  the  same  period  is  known 
to  us  mainly  from  the  remains  of  early  buildings  which 
were  either  used  as  substructures  or  foundations  of 
later  buildings,  or  as  rubble  to  rill  up  the  terracing 
of.  the  Acropolis.  So  far  as  the  buildings  to  which 
these  earlier  fragments  of  architecture  belong  can 
be  identified,  they  have  already  been  described  in 
Chapter  III.  But  many  drums  and  capitals  of  columns 
and  portions  of  entablature  or  moulding  have  been 
found  which  cannot  be  assigned  with  certainty  to 
any  known  temple  or  shrine ;  and  the  same  may  be 
said  of  a  good  deal  of  the  architectural  sculpture  that 
has  been  recovered.  There  were,  doubtless,  many 
small  temples  on  the  Acropolis  or  in  its  neighbour- 
hood of  which  we  know  nothing,  and  of  which  we 
cannot  even  trace  the  foundations.  The  architectural 
members  of  some  of  them  have  been  pieced  together, 
and  one  or  two  of  them  have  been  partially  recon- 
structed in  tl^e  smaller  Museum  on  the  Acropolis. 
By  their  help  we  can  realise  that  Doric  architecture  — 
for  all  these  early  shrines  appear  to  have  been  of  the 
Doric  order  —  went  through  the  same  stages  at  Athens 
as  elsewhere.  The  capitals  in  the  earlier  buildings 
are  low  and  bulging,  and  gradually  approach  the 
apparently  flat  but  really  subtly  curved  shape  which 
we  see  in  the  Parthenon.  A  good  intermediate  example 
is  offered  by  the  capitals  of  the  colonnade  added  by 
Pisistratus  to  the  Early  Temple  of  Athena,  which  are 
distinctly  curved  in  outline,  but  far  removed  from  the 


178  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

rounded,  bowl-like  shape  of  their  predecessors.  The 
entablature,  too,  has  various  experimental  features  which 
show  the  Doric  order  not  yet  stereotyped  as  it  was  in 
later  times,  the  number  of  the  guttag,  for  example,  and 
other  details  of  finish  and  proportion,  still  varying 
considerably. 

There  is  no  certain  example  in  early  Athens  of  a 
complete  building  of  the  Ionic  order,  although  Mr. 
Penrose  would  restore  as  such  the  peristyle  of  the  Old 
Temple  of  Athena.  There  are  no  remains  of  any 
Ionic  entablature,  and  the  numerous  Ionic  capitals 
of  early  form  that  have  been  found  on  the  Acropolis 
are,  for  the  most  part,  ornamental  pedestals  for 
statues.  The  large  Ionic  capital  attributed  by  Mr. 
Penrose  to  the  early  temple  must  probably  be  explained 
in  this  way  also,  for  it  has  no  fellow.  This  set  of 
Ionic  capitals  is,  however,  of  great  interest  for  the 
light  they  throw  on  the  development  of  their  architec- 
tural form,  and  because  they  show  us  the  stages  by 
which  the  torus  and  the  volute  were  harmonised  into 
a  perfect  composition.  It  is  hardly,  however,  to  be 
supposed  that  this  development  took  place  in  mere 
isolated  capitals  and  pedestals  rather  than  in  com- 
plete Ionic  buildings;  and  so  the  Athenian  examples 
are  of  value  rather  as  reflecting  the  progress  made 
elsewhere,  than  as  showing  us  the  Ionic  order  actually 
in  its  growth.  It  is  a  curious  fact  that,  while  there 
are  numerous  signs  of  Ionic  influence  in  Athens, — 
among    which    these    capitals    must    be   reckoned,  —  no 


EARLY   ATTIC   ART  179 

Ionic  column  earlier  than  those  of  the  Propylaea,  and  no 
complete  Ionic  building  earlier  than  the  Nike  temple, 
have  been  found ; '  for  in  the  great  Ionic  cities,  such  as 
Miletus,  Ephesus,  Samos,  and  Naucratis,  the  Ionic 
order  was  generally  used  for  temples  from  the  earliest 
times.  It  seems  a  fair  inference  that,  in  architecture 
at  least,  the  artistic  affinities  of  the  Athenians  were 
with  the  mainland  of  Greece  rather  than  with  their 
kinsfolk,  the   Ionians,  on   the   east  of  the   yEgean. 

Most  of  the  small  Ionic  capitals  found  are  carved 
in  Parian  or  Naxian  marble,  and  there  are  also  some 
cornices  and  other  pieces  of  entablature  in  marble 
with  the  remains  of  painted  patterns  on  them ;  other 
cornices  and  mouldings  are  in  painted  terra-cotta. 
But  the  bulk  of  the  material  used  for  the  early  temples 
was  Piraic  limestone  —  the  material  now  commonly 
known  as  poros.  It  was,  of  course,  completely  covered 
with  a  coat  of  stucco,  which  was  plain  white  on  the 
columns  and  broader  surfaces,  but  doubtless,  like  the 
marble,  diversified  in  mouldings  and  other  details  with 
painted  ornamentation. 

The  sculpture  that  served  to  decorate  the  early 
temples  of  Athens  has  also  survived  to  a  considerable 
extent.  It  consists  chiefly  of  pedimental  groups  which 
belonged  to  the  temples  of  which  the  architectural 
remains  have  just  been  mentioned,  but  it  is  not  pos- 
sible, in  most  cases,  to  assign  it  with  certainty  to  one 

1  Unless  the  Ionic  temple  on  the  Ilissus,  drawn  by  Stuart,  was  earlier;  in  any  case 
it  was  not  archaic. 


i8o 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


or  other  of  those  buildings.  The  majority  of  these 
early  pediments  represent  various  exploits  of  Heracles. 
Amongst  these  are  his  fight  with  the   Hydra,  and    his 


Early  Pediment — Heracles  and  Hydra. 
On  left  Iolaus  and  chariot. 

struggle  with  Triton,  twice  repeated ;  he  was  probably 
also  one  of  the  principal  figures  in  other  groups  that 
are  only  partially  preserved.  The  sculptors  of  the 
pedimental  groups  show  a  remarkable  predilection 
for  monsters  with  scaly  and  coiling  tails,  whether  of 
snake    or  of    fish  —  a    predilection    partly  explained    by 


Pari  of  Early  Pediment  —  Heracles  and  Triton. 

the  great  convenience  of  these  tails  in  filling  the 
otherwise  untractable  space  in  either  angle  of  the 
gable.     The  strangest  of  all   these  monsters    has  three 


EARLY   ATTIC   ART  181 

heads  and  human  bodies  which  tail  off  below  the 
waist  into  serpentine  coils;  and  the  three  arc  so 
inextricably  intertwined  that  they  appear  to  form  but 
one  monster  —  an  effect  which  is  enhanced  by  the 
addition  of  two  wings  only  to  the  whole,  one  on  the 
outer  side  of  each  of  the  outer  bodies.  This  creature 
has  been  identified,  by  a  comparison  with  similar 
monsters  on  vases  and  with  literary  references,  as  a 
Tpicra>fjLaTo<;  Tvcfiuv.  His  antagonist  has  been  variously 
restored  as  Zeus  or  Heracles.  There  are  also  two 
enormous  snakes,  of    which   the   scales  are  worked  out 


Typhon. 
From  an  early  pediment. 

with  the  most  detailed  care,  and  which  probably  went 
to  complete  the  Typhon  pediment,  and  the  Triton 
group  which  corresponds  to  it  in  size.1  In  addition 
to  these  there  is  a  great  group  of  two  lions,  or,  as 
some  would  restore  it,  four  lions,  pulling  down  a  colos- 
sal bull.  Though  the  bull  is  fairly  complete,  the 
lions   are    fragmentary,    and,    in     the    absence    of    any 

1  I  understand  that  Dr.  Schrader  attributes  these  two  pediments  to  the  Early 
Temple  of  Athena.  As  his  arguments  are  not  yet  fully  published,  I  cannot  criticise 
them  ;  but  at  present  I  find  the  attribution  difficult  to  reconcile  with  the  probable 
age  of  the  temple.  It  is  also  difficult  to  conjecture  what  became  of  the  groups 
between  the  erection  of  the  peristyle  and  the  Persian  capture  of  Athens. 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


Bull  and  Lions. 

certainty  as  to  the  general  lines  of  the  composition, 
it  is  difficult  to  decide  whether  it  fitted  into  a  pedi- 
ment or  not. 

All  these  sculptures  are  executed  in  the  same  Piraic 
limestone  as  the  early  temples,  and  consequently  they 
are  commonly  known  as  the  sculptures  in  poros.1  They 
all  show  more  or  less  complete  remains  of  the  paint  that 
once  covered  their  entire  surface,  and  these  remains 
suffice  to  show  us  the  general  character  of  the  colouring. 
It  was  highly  conventional,  dark  blue,  for  example,  being 
constantly  used,  not  only  for  the  hair  and  beards  of  men, 
but  also  for  horses  and  for  the  body  of  the  bull,  while 
the  rest  of  the  distribution  of  the  colour  was  decorative 
rather  than  naturalistic  in  character.  The  background 
was  sometimes  coloured,  sometimes  left  plain,  so  that 
the  coloured  figures  stood  out  against  it  like  the  black 
or  coloured  figures  on  the  clay  ground  of  early  vases. 
The  subjects  and  the  composition  of  these  early  pedi- 
ments offer  many  other  analogies  with  vases,  and  espe- 
cially with  early  Attic  vases;  and  the  same  may  be  said 

1  French,  en  tuf. 


EARLY   ATTIC   ART  183 

of  the  artistic  types.  A  good  instance  is  seen  in  the 
heads  of  the  Typhon,  which  have  a  good  deal  of  resem- 
blance, both  in  expression  and  in  shape  of  eye  and  beard, 
to  the  heads  of  Heracles  and  Nessus  on  the  large,  early 
Attic  vase.  This  resemblance  is  of  importance,  because 
it  has  been  thought  that  the  style  of  the  poros  pediments 
showed  a  dependence  upon  Ionic  influence,  by  its  simi- 
larity to  certain  classes  of  Ionic  vases.  Now  that  we 
find  a  similar  style  on  vases  in  Athens,  we  need  not  look 
for  any  direct  Ionic  influence  on  the  sculpture  that 
adorned  those  early  temples,  any  more  than  in  their 
architecture.  It  seems  more  probable  that  we  must 
recognise  a  vigorous  local  school  of  art  in  Athens  about 
the  earlier  part  or  the  middle  of  the  sixth  century  B.C., 
which  not  only  is  visible  in  industrial  products,  such  as 
pottery  and  decorative  bronzes,  but  was  also  capable  of 
building  temples  and  decorating  them  with  sculpture 
of  an  individual  character. 

Looked  upon  as  sculpture,  not  merely  as  a  decorative 
adjunct  to  architecture,  the  early  poros  groups  have 
some  merits  and  some  defects.  They  are  vigorous  and 
original  in  composition,  well  adapted  to  the  fields  they 
have  to  occupy.  The  figures  of  which  they  are  com- 
posed are  full  of  life  and  action ;  their  features,  though 
somewhat  uncouth,  are  full  of  expression;  the  forms  of 
their  bodies  and  limbs,  though  heavy  even  to  clumsiness, 
are  not  ill-proportioned  ;  even  the  position  of  muscles  and 
sinews  is  appreciated  and  indicated,  not  indeed  by  cor- 
rect modelling,  but  by  shallow  incised  grooves.     Perhaps 


184 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


the  finest  piece  of  treatment  of  surface  is  seen  in  the 
bull ;  the  wrinkles  of  his  neck  and  the  soft  texture  of 
his  muzzle  are  indicated  by  curved  lines  and  by  close-set 
holes  that  suggest  the  technique  of  drawing  or  bronze- 
working  rather  than  of  stone.  But,  on  the  other  hand, 
we  miss  entirely  in  these  early  Attic  sculptures  the  con- 
scientious study  of  detail,  the  refined  and  exact   study 

of  joints  or  hands  or  feet,  that 
mark  the  progress  of  archaic 
Greek  art  when  dealing  with  a 
few  oft -repeated  types,  and 
working  them  gradually  up  to 
perfection.  This  defect  may 
be  due  partly  to  the  fact  that 
we  have  here  architectural 
sculptures,  partly  to  the  coarse 
material  in  which  they  are  exe- 
cuted ;  but  even  in  marble 
works  of  the  same  age,  we  see 
the  same  characteristics  —  for 
example,  in  the  statue  of  a 
man  bearing  a  calf  on  his  shoulders,  which  was  dedi- 
cated, as  its  archaic  inscription  shows,  in  the  earlier 
part  of  the  sixth  century.  This  statue  is  in  the  local 
Hymcttian  marble,  a  material  little  used  for  sculpture, 
and  only  here  used  experimentally.  In  the  work  we 
see  the  same  life  and  vigour  of  effect,  together  with 
the  same  lack  of  precision  and  care  in  details. 

The  great   change   that   comes  over  Attic  sculpture 


Man  carrying  Calf. 


EARLY   ATTIC   ART  185 

about  the  middle  of  the  sixth  century  is  probably  to 
be  attributed  mainly  to  the  influence  of  Pisistratus. 
Until  his  time  Athens  had  been  more  or  less  isolated 
and  more  or  less  content  with  no  very  conspicuous 
position  among  Greek  cities.  His  policy  was  to  en- 
courage the  Panhellenic  feeling  among  the  Greeks 
generally,  and  to  encourage  social  and  artistic  inter- 
course between  the  various  states;  and,  above  all,  to 
raise  Athens  to  a  commanding  position  among  her 
fellows,  partly  by  giving  a  Panhellenic  importance  to 
the  Panathenaic  games,  partly  by  encouraging  literary 
and  artistic  enterprise.  We  have  noticed  the  effect  of 
his  influence  on  the  buildings  of  the  Acropolis  and 
lower  city;  he  attracted  to  Athens,  not  only  poets 
and  literary  men,  but  also  artists,  and  particularly 
sculptors,  from  other  centres  of  artistic  progress.  It 
was  above  all  to  the  rising  schools  of  sculpture  in 
Asia  Minor  and  the  islands,  already  famous  for  the 
use  they  were  making  of  the  fine  marbles  of  Naxos 
and  Paros,  that  Pisistratus  seems  to  have  turned ;  we 
actually  find  on  the  Acropolis  several  bases  of  statues 
that  attest,  by  the  different  alphabets  used  in  their 
inscriptions,  the  presence  of  Ionic  artists  —  among  them 
men  as  well  known  as  Archermus  of  Chios  and  Theo- 
dorus  of  Samos,  representatives  of  the  two  families 
who  made  rival  claims,  according  to  the  two  traditions 
recorded  by  Pliny,  to  have  originated  sculpture  in 
Greece.  The  presence  of  such  artists  and  their  pupils 
in    Athens    would    be    sure    to    have   a  great   influence 


186  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

upon  the  work  of  home  sculptors.  In  the  case  of 
statues  in  Naxian  and  Parian  marble,  there  is  always 
room  for  doubt  whether  the  marble  was  imported  into 
Athens  in  rough  blocks  for  the  use  of  sculptors  on 
the  spot,  or  in  the  form  of  statues  already  finished, 
before  export,  by  the  hands  of  Naxian  and  Parian 
sculptors,  near  the  quarries  where  the  marble  is  found. 
Statues,  both  finished  and  unfinished,  in  Paros  and 
Naxos,  testify  to  the  early  skill  of  the  local  sculptors ; 
in  some  cases,  too,  they  may  have  accompanied  the 
marble  from  their  native  islands  to  the  places  where 
there  was  a  demand  for  their  statues.  Some  modern 
authorities  believe  their  influence  and  activity  to 
have  been  very  widespread,  and  have  even  gone  so 
far  as  to  attribute  to  them  much  of  the  architectural 
sculptures  of  Delos  and  Olympia ;  but  the  evidence 
hardly  justifies  so  extreme  a  view.  At  present  we 
are  concerned  only  with  Athens ;  and  there,  it  is  to 
be  noted,  the  set  of  sculptors'  names  that  occur  upon 
pedestals  of  statues  contain  none  which  we  can  identify 
with  certainty  as  those  of  Parian  or  Naxian  sculptors, 
and  none  are  written  in  the  characteristic  alphabets 
of  Naxos  or  of   Paros. 

The  earliest  considerable  work  in  imported  marble 
which  has  been  found  in  Athens  is  the  pedimental  sculp- 
ture from  the  early  temple  of  Athena.  This  sculpture 
must  be  contemporary  with  the  erection  of  the  peristyle 
round  the  temple,  probably  by  Pisistratus.  The  subject 
was   tlie    battle   of   the   gods   and   giants.      The  central 


EARLY   ATTIC   ART  187 

group,  which  represented  Athena  transfixing  a  pros- 
trate giant  with  her  spear,  is  fairly  well  preserved,  as 
are  also  two  other  recumbent  figures,  presumably  of 
wounded  giants,  from  the  same  composition.  The 
style  is  in  some  ways  intermediate  between  the  earlier 
limestone  pediments  and  the  marble  statues  on  the 
Acropolis.  The  composition  is  bold  and  vigorous, 
the  expression  on  Athena's  face  lively,  if  somewhat 
crude.  Her  eyes  are  full  and  round ;  in  the  forms  of 
the  body  and  limbs  of  the  giants  there  is  much  of  the 
same  character  that  we  see  in  the  limestone  sculptures. 
The  positions  shown  are  more  difficult,  and  sometimes, 
consequently,  less  successful  ;  for  example,  the  chest 
and  arms  of  one  of  the  giants  are  fairly  correct,  and 
also  his  legs,  but  the  turn  of  the  lower  part  of  the  body 
between  the  two  is  not  clearly  realised,  and  consequently 
quite  falsely  rendered.  The  finish  in  details  is  finer, 
doubtless  owing  chiefly  to  the  superior  material.  A 
very  similar  group,  both  in  style  and  subject,  orna- 
mented the  pediment  of  the  temple  at  Delphi,  built 
by  the  banished  Athenian  Alcmaeonids  shortly  after  the 
middle  of  the  sixth  century;  and  so  we  have  a  con- 
firmation of  the  date  to  which  the  Athenian  pediment 
must  be  assigned.  A  striking  feature  of  the  sculpture 
is  the  rich  use  of  colour,  especially  in  the  large  pendent 
aegis  of  Athena,  which  is  decorated  with  a  scale  pattern 
that  recalls  the  tails  of  the  monsters  on  the  earlier 
pediments. 

The  greater  part  of  the  sculpture   in  imported  marble 


188  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

on  the  Acropolis  is  not  architectural,  but  forms  a  series 
of  statues,  most  of  them  dedicated  to  Athena.  The 
great  majority  of  these  are  draped  female  figures ;  their 
exact  significance  is  much  disputed,  and,  very  likely, 
was  not  much  clearer  to  the  dedicators  themselves  than 
it  is  to  us.  All  we  know  is  that  the  statues  were 
officially  called  Kopat  or  maidens  ;  that  they  were  dedi- 
cated by  men  as  well  as  by  women,  and  that  they  could 
be  offered  to  a  god  as  well  as  to  a  goddess.  An 
extreme  example  is  offered  by  the  inscription,1 

T^ySe  Kop-qv  ave9r]Kev  a.Trap^r]v  NavAo^os  aypus 
r/v  ol  IlovTO/xe8ix)v  Xpvcrorpicuv   ewopev, 

where  we  notice,  in  addition  to  the  other  points  already 
mentioned,  that  the  "  maiden "  is  offered  as  a  "  first 
fruits."  This  example  violates  almost  every  rule  that 
has  been  formulated  about  Greek  dedications,  and  shows 
that  those  rules,  though  they  may  be  true  in  the  main, 
are  not  to  be  strictly  interpreted,  and  admit  of  excep- 
tions. The  reason  why  an  offering  took  the  form  of  a 
maiden  is  not  easy  for  us  to  recover ;  what  is  most  to 
our  present  purpose  is  to  note  that  this  form  of  offering 
was  very  common,  and  of  practically  universal  appro- 
priateness. The  result,  for  us,  is  that  we  have,  to  illus- 
trate the  history  of  Attic  art,  a  series  of  statues  which 
is  perhaps  rather  monotonous,  repeating  the  same  type 
over  and  over  again  with  but  slight  variations ;  but 
which  is,  for  that  very  reason,  all  the  more  instructive, 

1  CIA.  iv.  i.  373.  9. 


Female  Draped  Figure. 


EARLY   ATTIC   ART  191 

since  it  allows  us  to  trace  the  continuous  development 
of  sculpture  without  the  necessity  of  allowing  for  varia- 
tions of  subject. 

There  are  among  these  statues  two  or  three  that  are 
evidently  of  foreign  workmanship ;  but  the  rest  show  so 
many  common  characteristics,  and  so  great  a  difference 
from  series  of  the  same  type  found  elsewhere,  —  at  Delos, 
for  example,  —  that  we  cannot  but  regard  them  as  the 
product  of  a  single  school ;  and  it  can  hardly  be  main- 
tained that  this  school  is  any  other  than  the  Attic. 
When,  however,  we  compare  the  statues  of  this  series 
with  the  earlier  Attic  works,  the  limestone  pediments, 
for  example,  or  even  the  marble  pediment  of  the  Old 
Temple  of  Athena,  it  is  impossible  not  to  recognise  that 
a  great  change  has  taken  place.  The  change  is  probably 
due,  as  we  have  seen,  to  the  foreign  artists  who  gathered 
round  the  court  of  Pisistratus. 

The  Attic  art  which  grew  under  these  influences  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  sixth  century  is  more  remarkable 
for  refinement  and  delicacy  than  for  strength.  It  delights 
in  the  rich  folds  of  the  complicated  Ionic  drapery,  and  in 
the  varied  details  of  an  elaborate  coiffure.  The  face  and 
its  expression  are  carefully  studied ;  the  round,  open  eye, 
which  we  still  find  in  some  of  the  earlier  of  the  "  maidens," 
gives  way  to  a  comparatively  narrow  aperture  between 
the  curved  eyelids ;  the  mouth  substitutes  for  the  broad, 
archaic  grin  of  earlier  times  a  subtly  curved  bow,  not 
altogether  free  from  affectation.  The  rich  and  lively 
effect  produced  by  these  statues  is  in  great  measure  due 


192  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

to  the  good  preservation  of  their  colouring,  which  has 
for  the  first  time  given  us  a  clear  notion  of  the  applica- 
tion of  colour  to  sculpture  in  early  Greece.  The  fine 
material,  and  the  traditions  it  has  brought  with  it,  have 
had  their  effect.  The  whole  surface  is  no  longer  covered 
with  an  opaque  coat  of  paint,  as  in  the  case  of  the  rough 
.limestone  pediments.  The  change  was  probably  facili- 
tated by  the  custom  of  representing  the  flesh  of  women, 
and  also  sumptuous  drapery,  by  a  white  pigment ;  to 
apply  such  a  pigment  over  the  surface  of  Parian  marble 
would  be  "  to  gild  refined  gold."  And,  when  the  beauty 
of  its  texture,  where  exposed  to  view,  was  once  appre- 
ciated, there  would  naturally  be  a  tendency  to  leave  as 
much  as  possible  of  it  visible.  We  accordingly  find  that, 
in  this  set  of  "  maidens,"  the  use  of  colour  is  restricted 
within  narrow  limits.  It  is,  in  the  first  place,  applied  to 
the  hair,  the  eyes,  and  the  lips,  the  pigment  used  for  the 
hair  and  lips  being  red,  and  the  same  for  the  iris  of  the 
eye,  and  usually  for  the  outlines  of  iris  and  pupil ;  but  a 
darker  pigment  is  generally  used  for  the  pupil  itself,  and 
sometimes  for  the  outline  of  the  iris.  It  will  be  seen 
that  this  colouring  is  still  partly  conventional,  certainly 
not  naturalistic  in  character;  but  the  red  colouring  on 
hair  and  iris  is  probably  intended  to  represent  an  actual 
and  admired  type.  The  usual  colour  of  the  hair  of  the 
Tanagra  statuettes  is  the  same,  and  the  red-brown  eyes 
of  the  Delphi  charioteer,  itself  probably  an  Attic  work, 
will  not  easily  be  forgotten  by  those  who  have  seen  them. 
On  the  drapery  we  find  similar  principles  of  decoration. 


Female  Draped  .  Figure. 


EARLY   ATTIC    ART 


195 


No  garment  is  covered  with  a  complete  coat  of  paint 
unless  only  a  small  portion  of  it  is  visible.  The  main 
surfaces  are  always  left  white,  showing  the  natural  tex- 
ture of  the  marble,  but  they  have  richly  coloured  borders, 
and  are  sprigged  with  finely  drawn  decorations,  the  col- 
ours used  being  mostly  rich  and  dark  ones  —  dark  green, 
which  was  in  some  cases  originally  blue,  dark  blue,  pur- 
ple, or  red.  The  effect  of  this  colouring,  whether  on  face 
or  garments,  is  to  set  off  and  enhance  by  contrast  the 
beautiful  tint  and  texture  of  the  marble.  Those  who 
have  only  seen  white  marble  statues  without  any  touches 
of  colour  to  give  definition  to  the  modelling  and  variety 
to  the  tone  can  have  no  notion  of  the  beauty,  life,  and 
vigour  of  which  the  material  is  capable. 

The  dress  of  the  "  maidens "  shows  a  grace  and 
elaboration  that  is  in  accord  with  the  style  of  their 
sculpture.  There  are  several  varieties ;  but  the  majority 
are  clothed  after  a  fashion  that  may  be  classed  as 
Ionian.  This  need  not  surprise  us,  when  we  remember 
the  story  told  by  Herodotus,1  how,  after  a  certain  disas- 
trous expedition  to  /Egina,  the  Athenian  women  set 
upon  the  sole  survivor  and  stabbed  him  to  death  with 
their  brooches;  and  how,  in  consequence,  they  were 
forbidden  thereafter  to  wear  brooches  at  all,  but  to  adopt 
the  linen  Ionic  chiton,  instead  of  the  Doric.  This 
change  must  be  assigned  to  the  earlier  part  of  the  sixth 
century ;  on  the  Francois  and  other  early  Attic  vases 
women  wear  the  Doric  chiton,  with  its  large  brooches  on 

1  v.  87. 


196 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


the  shoulders.  On  the  other  hand,  Thucydides 1  tells  us 
that  in  his  time  the  Ionian  dress,  with  its  linen  chiton, 
had  only  recently  been  given  up  by  old-fashioned  peo- 
ple.    Thus  the  prevalence  of  Ionian  dress  in  Athenian 

fashion  just  about  coincides  with 
the  period  to  which  the  statues  we 
are  considering  must  be  assigned. 
The  reversion  to  the  simpler  Doric 
dress  seems  to  have  taken  place 
about  the  time  of  the  Persian  Wars, 
and  it  coincided  with  a  tendency 
in  art  also  to  severer  and  more 
dignified  forms.  We  can  already 
see  an  anticipation  of  this  im- 
provement in  some  of  the  maid- 
ens who  find  their  place  in  the 
series.  One  (p.  197),  while  differ- 
ing from  the  rest  rather  in  refine- 
ment and  delicacy  of  modelling 
than  in  type  or  artistic  method,  shows  to  what  skill 
in  marble  technique  the  Attic  sculptors  had  attained. 
Another  (above),  of  simpler  modelling,  has  succeeded 
in  transforming  the  archaic  smile  into  an  expression 
that  is  not  without  charm  and  even  fascination  for  many 
of  those  who  see  it.  In  these  last  two  we  may  see, 
as  it  were,  the  culmination  of  the  Ionic  tradition,  as 
inherited  by  Attic  sculptors.  But  it  was  not  this  tradi- 
tion unalloyed  that  led   up  to  the  masterpieces  of  the 


Female  Draped  Figure. 


1  I. 


EARLY    ATTIC    ART  199 

fifth  century.  Before  we  turn  to  the  examples  of  a 
new  and  more  severe  influence,  it  will  be  better  to 
notice  some  other  classes  of  characteristic  early  Attic 
work.  One  of  these  forms,  so  to  speak,  a  connecting 
link  between  the  "  maidens  "  and  the  decorative  bronzes  ; 
it  is  a  set  of  statues  of  flying  Victories,  such  as  arc 
used  on  a  small  scale  in  bronze  for  the  supports  of 
boxes  and  other  purposes ;  the  type  is  familiar  in  marble 
from  the  Victory  of  Archermus  on  Delos,  which,  as  the 
work  of  a  Chian  artist,  shows  that  the  Ionic  schools, 
whose  influence  we  have  already  noticed,  here  also 
gave  the  first  suggestion.  But  the  examples  found  in 
Athens  show  that  here,  too,  the  Attic  artists  had  im- 
proved on  their  models,  especially  in  the  study  of 
wind-swept  drapery,  which,  if  not  always  consistently 
treated,  is  rendered  with  both  skill  and  delicacy. 
Another  series,  a  set  of  horsemen  that  were  probably 
dedicated  by  victors  in  the  Panathenaic  races,  enable  us 
to  trace  the  gradual  improvement  in  the  rendering  of 
the  horse,  the  stages  of  preparation  that  were  to  lead  up 
to  the  masterly  treatment  of  the  horse  in  the  Parthenon 
frieze  and  pediments.  One  of  the  earliest  of  these  is 
of  a  different  nature ;  the  rider  is  clad  in  a  suit  of  many 
colours,  with  close-fitting  trousers,  such  as  are  worn  by 
barbarian  archers  on  contemporary  vases,  one  of  which 
has  just  such  a  horseman  with  the  inscription,  MiXnaS^s 
/ca\o<?.  The  date,  of  course,  precludes  any  reference  to 
the  battle  of  Marathon,  but  the  reference  on  the  vase 
may  well   be  to  some   youthful   exploit  of  "the   Tyrant 


200  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

of  the  Chersonese  " ;  and  the  statue  may  be  dedicated 
to  commemorate  the  same  event.  The  scaly  pattern 
on  the  rider's  dress  reminds  one  of  the  aegis  of  Athena 
on  the  early  marble  pediment,  and  the  manner  of  treat- 
ing and  colouring  the  marble  suggests  that  there  is  no 


By  permission  of  Messrs.  A.  \v.  Mansell  &  Sons. 

Relief  ok  the  Nymphs  or  Hor/e. 


long  interval  of  time  between  the  two  works.  There 
are  also  many  marble  reliefs  which  show  the  same 
characteristics  as  the  sculpture  in  the  round.  A  good 
example  is  a  representation  of  three  dancing  maidens, 
preceded  by  a  flute-player  and  followed  by  a  boy;  the 
subject  suggests  later  reliefs  of  the   Nymphs  or  Horae. 


EARLY    ATTIC   ART  201 

Marble  statues  or  reliefs  have  been  found  elsewhere 
than  on  the  Acropolis,  and  confirm  the  general  estimate 
of  Attic  art  that  may  be  made  from  the  Acropolis  exca- 
vations. The  best  preserved  of  them  come  from  tombs; 
an  interesting  fragment  from  a  cemetery  in  central 
Attica  consists  of  the  basis  with  a  funerary  in- 
scription and  the  feet  of  a  statue  which  must  have- 
been  similar  to  the  "maidens"  on  the  Acropolis,  show- 
ing that  the  same  type  was  used  for  monuments  or 
tombs  —  a  fact  already  attested  in  the  case  of  the 
nude  male  "Apollo"  type.  The  best  known  of  all 
early  Attic  tombstones  is  that  of  Aristion,  made  by 
the  sculptor  Aristocles,  which  was  for  some  time  the 
cardinal  monument  of  early  Attic  sculpture.  From  it 
Brunn,1  with  his  usual  insight,  had  inferred  the 
characteristics  that  later  discoveries  have  confirmed  — 
a  skill  in  composition,  a  harmony  in  the  balance  of  mass 
and  power,  an  impression  of  rest,  without  which  the 
fineness  of  execution  in  detail  loses  its  charm.  We 
notice  these  same  qualities  in  the  finest  —  though  not 
in  all  —  of  the  recently  discovered  examples  of  Attic  art. 

Of  sculpture  in  bronze  we  naturally  have  much 
less  left  than  of  sculpture  in  marble;  indeed,  the  only 
part  of  a  life-size  statue  preserved  from  early  times,  a 
very  fine  portrait  head,  is  almost  certainly  of  ^Egi- 
netan,  not  of  Attic,  workmanship,  and  so  does  not 
concern  us  here,  except  as  it  shows  that  the  Athenian 
Acropolis    contained,    even    in    the    period    before    the 

Gesch.  d.  g.  Kunstl.  I.  p.  m. 


202 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


Persian  Wars,  fine  examples  of  other  schools  of  sculp- 
ture than  the  Attic.  Statuettes,  on  the  other  hand, 
have  been  found  in  considerable  numbers,  and  show 
the    same    fine    and    delicate     workmanship     that    we 


Flat  Decorative  Bronze  Relief 
of  Athena. 


Bronze  Statuette  of  Athena 
Promachos. 


noticed  in  the  decorative  bronzes.  Several  repre- 
sent various  types  of  Athena;  those  which  show  her 
as  Promachos,  striking  with  her  spear  in  raised  right 
hand,  her  shield  on  her  left  arm,  are  among  the  most 
characteristic.  An  interesting  and  very  charming  ex- 
ample of  the  more  peaceful  type,  without  a  helmet, 
is  offered  by  a  flat  relief,  similarly  worked  on  both 
sides,  that  must  have  been  affixed  to  a  tripod  or  some 
other  such  object;    this   was    also   gilt.     The    types   of 


EARLY   ATTIC   ART 


203 


Athena  and  of  other  deities  are  also  represented  by 
a  very  numerous  series  of  terra-cottas,  both  statuettes 
and  reliefs,  that  have  been  found    on  the   Acropolis. 

Amongst  all  these  dedications  there  are  but  feu  to 
remind  us  that  there  existed  also  in  Athens,  at  the 
beginning  of  the  fifth  century,  a 
flourishing  school  of  athletic  sculp- 
ture, represented  in  literary  tradition 
by  such  names  as  Hegias,  Antenor, 
Critius,  and  Nesiotes.  There  are, 
indeed,  some  bronze  statuettes  from 
the  Acropolis,  one  of  particularly 
fine  workmanship,  which  may  pro- 
bably be  of  local  origin ;  but  for 
statues  we  are  dependent  upon 
copies.  The  most  famous  works  of 
this  athletic  Attic  school  were  the 
statues  of  the  tyrannicides,  Harmo- 
dius  and  Aristogiton,  which  were 
set  up  at  the  upper  end  of  the 
Agora.1  The  first  group,  made  by 
Antenor,  was  carried  off  by  Xerxes,  and  returned  to  the 
Athenians  later  by  Alexander  or  Antiochus ;  it  was  re- 
placed immediately  after  480  B.C.  by  another  group 
made  by  Critius  and  Nesiotes,  and  it  is  of  this  latter 
group  most  probably  that  the  statues  now  in  Naples 
are  the  copies.  They  bear  out  Lucian's  description  of 
the  works  of  these   early  masters,  as   sinewy  and   hard 


Bronze  Statuette  of 
an  Athlete. 


See  p.  128. 


204 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


and  stiff  in  outline ;  but  at  the  same  time  they  show 
a  splendid  vigour  in  the  impetuous  rush  of  the  two 
friends  against  the  tyrant,  and  there  is  an  impression 
of  heroic  size  about  them,  due  to  the  dignity  and  large- 
ness of  their  proportions,  and  in  strong  contrast  to  the 
neat  and  compact  figures  of  /Eginetan  sculpture.  In 
the  one  head  preserved,  that  of   Harmodius,  there  is  no 

Great  advance  toward 
freedom,  though  the 
affectation  which  we 
noticed  in  some  of  the 
Acropolis  heads  is 
avoided.  For  the  finest 
example  of  a  severer 
and  simpler  treatment 
of  the  face,  due,  no 
doubt,  partly  to  for- 
eign, probably  Pelo- 
ponnesian,  influence, 
but  adding  to  it  all 
Head  of  Young  Ma*.  the    Attic   qualities    of 

delicacy  and  grace,  we  must  again  turn  to  a  marble 
head  from  the  Acropolis,  that  of  a  young  man,  which 
probably  comes  from  an  athletic  statue.  We  may 
compare  with  this  in  style  —  though  far  behind  it  in 
beauty  of  execution — a  small  bronze  head  from  the 
Acropolis,  which  might  almost  be  an  Argive  work, 
and  the  upper  part  of  a  marble  figure,  which  at  once 
distinguishes   itself  from   the   rest   of  the   "maidens''  by 


Female  Draped  Figure,  showing  Severer  Influence. 


EARLY   ATTIC    ART  207 

the  simplicity  and  severity  of  its  modelling,  by  its 
prominent  eyelids  and  the  downward  turn  of  its  lips, 
as  if  in  reaction  against  the  archaic  smile  (p.  205). 
The  head  of  a  young  man  or  ephebus  shows  these 
same  characteristics,  and  has  much  in  common  with 
the  head  of  the  Delphi  charioteer  and  the  heads  drawn 
on  the  severer  of  the  red-figured  vases,  such  as  the 
finest  of  those  made  by  Euphronios.  It  thus  shows 
us,  in  a  most  pleasing  form,  just  the  stage  reached  by 
one  branch  at  least  of  Attic  art  when  the  capture  of 
Athens  by  the  Persians  destroyed  the  older  dedica- 
tions and  made  room  for  new ;  it  also  shows  us  the 
typical  young  Athenian  who  fought  at  Marathon  and 
Salamis. 


CHAPTER    VI 

THE  ACROPOLIS  IN  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY 

Zctti  iv  Tij  axpOTToXi  ravTrj  Epe^6eo<i  tov  y^yeyeos  Xf.yop.tvov  eivui  vj/os,  «v 
raj  iXairj  T€  kuI  OdXacraa  evl,  ra  Adyos  7rap  AOrjvaiwv  IToo-etSeWa  Te  Kai 
' AOrjvairjV  ipicruvTus  Trepl  t^s  X^PV*  /Aaprd|Qta  vtcruai.  TavrrjV  wv  rrjv  eXairjv 
ayua  tw  aA.Aa)  ipw  Kare'Au/Je  ip.wprjo'OrjvaL  viro  tCjv  /3apf3dpwv '  Sevrepr)  Se 
fifj.epyj  oltto  rrjs  £p.Trp?)(TLos  'A6r]vaiu)v  ot  #i/£iv  i>7rd  /8ao-iAeos  KtAei'dftevot  ws 
avefirjaav  es  to  ipdv,  wpa>i/  fiXaaTov  £k  toS  orcAe^eos  do~ov  re  ir-q^valov  ava- 
SeSpa/xrjKOTu.  —  Herodotus,  VIII.  55. 

The  tale  of  the  sacred  olive  of  Athena,  and  how  it 
sent  forth  a  shoot  a  cubit  long  but  two  days  after  it  had 
been  burnt  by  the  Persians,  may  be  taken  as  symbolical 
of  the  new  growth  of  Attic  art,  that  hastened  to  re- 
place by  nobler  architecture  and  sculpture  all  that  had 
perished  at  the  hands  of  the  invader.  We  have  already 
seen  how  the  walls  of  the  Acropolis  were  renewed,  and 
its  outline  extended  to  the  symmetrical  shape  that 
formed  a  fitting  frame  for  the  treasures  of  art  that 
it  was  to  enshrine.  When  the  Athenians  returned  to 
their  desecrated  citadel,  they  probably  found  but  little 
left  of  the  temples  and  statues  that  had  stood  upon  it. 
And  that  little  they  made  no  attempt  to  restore  or  to 
preserve  :  some  of  it  they  buried,  to  fill  up  the  enlarged 
terrace  of  the  Acropolis;  some  of  it  they  built  into  the 

208 


THE   ACROPOLIS   IN   THE   FIFTH   CENTURY         209 

walls  —  notably    the    entablature    and    columns    of    the 
peristyle  which   Pisistratus  had  added  to  the  chief  tem- 
ple of  Athena.     The  first  necessity  was  to  provide  the 
necessary  accommodation  for  the  sacrifices   and  other 
rites  of  the  state.     But  we  must  remember  that  a  temple 
was  by  no  means  the  most  essential  thing  for  this  pur- 
pose.    Certain  survivors   of   the    Athenians — the  same 
who   told   the   tale   about  the   sprouting  of   the   sacred 
olive  —  had    been    ordered  by    Xerxes    to    perform    the 
customary   sacrifices  immediately  after  the  sack   of  the 
Acropolis  ;  and  they  seem   to  have  found   no  difficulty 
in   doing  so.     The   great    altar  of    Athena    was    in    all 
probability  a  rough  mass  of  rock,  which  could  be  dam- 
aged by   no  conflagration ;    and   all    that   was   required 
for  the  due  performance  of  a  sacrifice  was  an  altar  and 
a  precinct.     Doubtless  it  was  desirable  also  to  provide 
a  storehouse  for  the  sacrificial  vessels  and  implements, 
and,  in  time,  for  the  sacred  treasure  which  would  soon 
begin  to  accumulate.     But  all  this   could   be   managed 
well  enough  with  temporary  buildings,  and  no  immedi- 
ate   inconvenience  would    be   felt.     We    do    not    know 
what  became  of  the  ancient  wooden  image  of  Athena, 
or   how   it    escaped    destruction   when    the    temple  was 
burnt ;  but  it   certainly   survived,   and   must   have  been 
provided   with    some    temporary  shrine ;    but    this    may 
have  been   on  a  quite  small   scale.     It   is  necessary  to 
consider   these    conditions,  because  it  is  sometimes  as- 
serted that  the  Athenians  must  have  restored  the   Old 
Temple  of   Athena,   without   its   peristyle,  to   meet  the 


210  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

necessities  of  the  state  religion,  and  could  not  have 
waited  without  any  great  temple  until  the  completion  of 
a  project  that  must  have  been  expected  to  take  many 
years.  But,  so  long  as  a  project  for  a  more  magnificent 
temple  was  in  contemplation,  the  goddess  might  well  be 
content  that  her  old  temple  remained  in  ruins,  since  the 
regular  worship  in  her  honour  was  not  hindered  thereby. 
There  is  no  sign  in  the  extant  remains  to  show  that  the 
early  temple  was  ever  restored ;  all  its  foundations 
remain  below  the  level  of  the  ground  of  the  Acropolis 
after  the  Persian  Wars ;  and,  with  the  absence  of  any 
cogent  argument  of  probability  or  convenience,  all  rea- 
sons disappear  for  supposing  that  it  was  rebuilt  after 
its  destruction  by  the  Persians.1  But  as  soon  as  the 
pressing  necessity  of  restoring  the  walls  of  their  town 
had  been  met,  there  is  little  doubt  that  the  next  thing 
they  attempted  was  to  build  a  larger  and  more  beautiful 
temple  to  the  patron  goddess  of  their  city.  The  bold 
scheme  that  commended  itself  to  them  for  this  purpose 
is  worthy  to  have  been  originated  by  Themistocles  him- 
self, and  all  probability,  though  nothing  of  positive 
evidence,  may  be  adduced  in  favour  of  the  attribution. 
Instead  of  building  the  new  temple  where  the  old  one 
had  stood,  or  even  choosing  the  highest  convenient  v 
level  platform  of  the  rock  of  the  Acropolis,  they  selected 
a  new  and   more   commanding  position,  farther  to   the 

1  The  evidence  from  inscriptions  and  other  documents,  put  together  with  great 
ingenuity  by  Professor  I  >8rpfeld  in  Mittheil.  .  Uh.  X I  i.  and  XV.,  is  completely  disposed 
(if  by  Mr.  Frazer,  J. U.S.  XIII.  156;  and  /'mis.  II.  p.  553. 


THE   ACROPOLIS   IN    THE    FIFTH    CENTURY         211 

south;  and  as  the  rock  failed  them  over  half  of  this 
site,  they  decided  to  erect  an  enormous  substructure  to 
carry  the  new  temple ;  in  some  parts  of  its  southern  side 
this  substructure  is  as  high  as  forty  feet  above  the  rock. 
In  order  to  facilitate  its  construction,  they  built  a  rough 
supporting  wall  about  thirty  to  forty  feet  away  from 
its  southern  faCe ;  and  as  they  added  courses  to  the 
substructure,  they  filled  up  the  space  between  it  and  the 
wall  with  earth  and  other  rubbish,  so  as  to  have  a  solid 
ground  to  work  on,  and  to  save  the  necessity  for  a 
scaffolding.  What  they  used  to  fill  in  this  space  be- 
tween the  wall  and  the  substructure  was,  to  a  great  extent, 
the  debris  of  sculpture  and  architecture  from  the  temples 
destroyed  by  the  Persians,  either  on  the  Acropolis  or  in 
the  town  below ;  and  it  is  from  this  place  that  much  of 
the  contents  of  the  Acropolis  Museum  has  been  derived. 
The  end  of  the  wall  may  still  be  seen  in  a  pit  left  for 
the  purpose  after  the  recent  excavations,  nearly  opposite 
the  western  end  of  the  Parthenon.  Here  it  rests  on 
a  piece  of  the  early  Pelasgic  wall,  and  a  rough  staircase 
is  visible,  evidently  intended  for  the  use  of  the  work- 
men. The  supporting  wall  was  only  for  temporary  use, 
and  was  never  meant  to  show ;  it  was  buried  deep  below 
the  ground  when  Cimon  built  the  south  wall  of  the 
Acropolis  from  the  spoils  of  the  battle  of  the  Euryme- 
don,  in  468  B.C. 

For  some  reason  the  great  temple  was  never  finished 
according  to  its  original  design.  The  substructure  was, 
however,  practically  completed,    and    the    steps    of    the 


212 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


temple  were  set  in  position  on  the  top  of  it,  and  partially 
cut  out  of  the  living  rock  at  the  east  end.  Some  of  the 
drums  of  the  columns  were  also  prepared  of  Pentelic 
marble  ;  indeed,  this  is  the  first  clear  example  we  have  of 

the    use    of   the    ma- 


terial that  was  soon 
to  become  so  famous. 
How  much  more  was 
done  we  cannot  tell, 
but  it  seems  evident 
that  the  scheme  was 
abandoned  before  the 
actual  building  of 
the  temple  had  made 
much  progress.  We 
can  only  conjecture 
the  reason  for  this 
proceeding,  but  there 
is  much  probability  in 
the  suggestion  of  Pro- 
fessor   Furtwangler 


Rough  Terrace  Wall  and  Staircase 

South  of  Parthenon. 

Pelasgic  wall  below. 


that  the  scheme,  being  devised  by  Thcmistocles,  natu- 
rally fell  into  disfavour  at  his  disgrace  and  exile.  After 
his  ostracism,  in  472  B.C.,  Cimon's  influence  became 
predominant  in  Athens,  and  with  him  more  conservative 
views  prevailed.  It  is  true  that  he  also  contributed 
his  share  to  the  beautifying  of  the  Acropolis,  but,  in  ad- 
dition to  the  personal  feeling  against  Themistocles  and 
his  projects,  there  may  well  have  been  a  reaction  against 


THE   ACROPOLIS   IN    THE    FIFTH    CENTURY  213 

so  complete  a  shifting  of  the  position  of  the  chief  temple 
of  Athena.     In  addition  to  building  the  south  wall  of  the 
Acropolis,  Cimon  probably  added  the  steps  that  led  down 
through  the  north  wall  above  the  cave  of  Aglauros  ;  and 
he  also  built  a  portico  along  this  north  wall  just  to   the 
east  of  the  steps,  and  terraced  up  the  level  of  the  ground 
here  also,  so  as  to  match  the  more  extensive  changes  of 
level    that    he   had  introduced   in   the   southern   part   of 
the    Acropolis.     Whether  he  had  any  plans   as  to   the 
great   temple  of  Athena  we  have  no  evidence,  but  we 
can    hardly  imagine  that  the  work   begun    by  Themis- 
tocles    would    have    been    stopped    unless    some    other 
project  in  honour  of  the  goddess  were  substituted   for 
it.     It    may  be   conjectured    that    Cimon's    scheme  was 
an   anticipation    of   the    Erechtheum,    just    as    that    of 
Themistocles  was  an  anticipation  of  the  Parthenon ;  but, 
if  so,   it  has   left   no   traces  behind   it.     The  ten   years 
during  which  his  power  lasted  were,    however,    so   full 
of  activity  at  home  and  abroad  that  he  may  well  have 
had    little    opportunity   for    building    the    temple.     By 
completing  the  walls  of  the  Acropolis  with    the    spoils 
of  his  victory  over  the  Persians,  he  was  fitting  it  to  be 
that  perfect  dedication  to  the  goddess  that  it  was  con- 
sidered in  later  times;  and  there  is  another  work  almost 
certainly  to  be    attributed    to    him,    which    was    always 
among    its    most   conspicuous    monuments.      This    was 
the  colossal  bronze  statue  of    Athena,  which    stood    in 
the  open  a  little  way  behind  the   Propykea;    it  is  said 
to  have  been  dedicated  from  a    tithe   of   the    spoils    of 


214 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


Marathon  ;  and  it  was  appropriate  for  Cimon  thus  to 
set  up  a  great  memorial  of  the  victory  of  his  father 
Miltiades.  But  it  may  well  have  had  a  more  general 
reference  to  the  Persian  Wars ;  the  Athenians  were 
always  fond  of  taking  their  own  great  victory  of  Mara- 
thon as  typical  of  the  whole  struggle.  The  statue  has 
yet  another  interest  for  us,  for  it  is  the  first  recorded 
work  of  the  sculptor  Phidias.  The  foundation  of  the 
pedestal  on  which  it  stood  may  still  be  seen ;  it  is  most 
conspicuous  in  the  views  of  the  Acropo- 
lis that  appear  on  late  coins,  and  Pau- 
sanias  tells  us  that  the  helmet  and  the 
tip  of  the  spear  —  which  were  probably 
overlaid  with  irold  —  could  be  seen  from 
the  sea  by  any  one  approaching  from 
the   direction    of    Sunium.      The    statue 


A  i  henian  Coin. 


View  of  Acropolis, 
showing  stairs, 
cave,     Propylsea, 

colossal    statue,     may  perhaps  be  identical  with  one  that 

and  Parthenon.  .  . 

was  destroyed  in  a  not  at  Constanti- 
nople in  1203  a. D.,  having  been  carried  off  from  Athens 
and  set  up  in  the  Forum  of  Constantine;  and  of  this 
latter  statue  we  have  a  rather  rhetorical  description 
by  the  Byzantine  historian  Nicetas.  It  was  thirty  feet 
high,  and  drapery  and  statue  alike  were  of  bronze. 
The  right  hand  of  the  goddess,  which  was  otherwise 
restored  in  the  figure  at  Constantinople,  must  origi- 
nally have  rested  on  her  spear;  her  left  hand  held 
together  the  folds  of  her  draper)-;  she  also  had  an 
aegis  with  a  Gorgon's  head,  falling  from  her  shoulders 
over  her  breast  ;    the  head  and   face  were   turned   slightly 


THE   ACROPOLIS   IN   THE    FIFTH   CENTURY  215 

to  the  right.  What  Nicetas  appears  to  have  admired 
most  was  the  grace  and  suppleness  of  the  whole  figure, 
the  unrivalled  beauty  of  the  neck,  which  was  long  and 
bare,  and  of  the  tresses  that  showed  over  the  forehead 
on  either  side  of  the  helmet ;  incidentally,  he  mentions 
also  that  the  veins  were  clearly  rendered.  With  the 
help  of  this  description,  a  type  of  Athena  of  which 
some  examples  exist  in  our  museums  has  been  iden- 
tified as  derived,  more  or  less  directly,  from  the  colossal 
bronze  statue  of  Phidias ;  though  far  removed  from 
their  original,  they  give  us  some  notion  of  the  sim- 
plicity and  dignity  of  conception  that  distinguished  it.1 
When  Cimon  was  ostracised,  in  461  B.C.,  he  left  the 
Acropolis  terraced  up  and  walled  much  as  we  see  it 
now;  but  within  it  the  great  bronze  Athena  of  Phidias 
probably  kept  watch  over  little  but  temporary  store- 
houses and  unfinished  buildings.  The  first  few  years 
of  Pericles'  predominance  in  Athenian  affairs  do  not 
seem  to  have  been  marked  by  any  great  architectural 
changes  in  the  Acropolis.  Probably  he  was  occupied 
with  political  affairs  at  home  and  abroad ;  the  greatest 
visible  achievement  of  this  time  was  the  construction 
of  the  Lono-  Walls  from  the  Piraeus  to  Athens,  beo;un 
in  460  B.C.  In  this  matter  he  was,  in  a  certain  sense, 
following  and  completing  the  policy  of  Themistocles, 
who  had  even  gone  so  far  as  to   advocate    the    migra- 

1  The  statue  is  sometimes  called  Athena  Promachos,  but  there  is  no  early  authority 
for  the  name,  which  properly  belongs  to  a  quite  different  type  of  the  goddess,  rushing 
forward  to  lead  her  followers  into  battle. 


216  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

tion  of  the  Athenians  from  Athens  to  the  Piraeus,  in 
order  to  facilitate  and  confirm  their  naval  supremacy. 
But  Pericles  could  not  have  been  content  with  such 
a  scheme.  He  was  occupied  in  developing  that  ideal 
Athens  of  which  a  masterly  sketch  is  given  in  the 
speeches  that  Thucydides  has  put  into  his  mouth. 
And  this  ideal  city  required,  for  its  material  counter- 
part, a  sacred  citadel,  rich  in  religious  and  historic 
associations ;  if  Athens  was  to  be  a  liberal  education 
to  Greece,  then  its  Acropolis  must  show  all  that  was 
best  in  Greek  sculpture  and  architecture.  When 
Athens  reached  the  zenith  of  her  power,  the  Persian 
terror  was  felt  no  more ;  her  fleet  alone  sufficed  for 
a  guarantee  against  any  danger  to  the  freedom  of 
Hellas ;  and  the  treasure  of  the  confederacy  of  Delos, 
originally  intended  as  a  protection  against  Persia, 
had  been  transferred  to  her  keeping.  While  she  was 
thus  fulfilling  her  destiny  as  the  champion  of  Greece 
against  the  barbarian,  it  was  the  aim  of  Pericles  to 
vindicate  for  her  a  still  prouder  claim,  and  to  make 
her  practically  the  artistic  and  religious  capital  of 
Greece.  Accordingly  all  the  Greeks  were  summoned 
to  meet  in  Athens,  and  to  concert  measures  for  re- 
storing the  fallen  temples  of  the  gods,  as  a  thank-offer- 
ing for  their  deliverance  from  the  Persian  invasion. 
I  he  summons  met  with  little  or  no  response  in  the 
Peloponnese ;  but  the  members  of  the  Delian  confed- 
eracy had  to  a  great  extent  become  the  tributaries 
rather  than  the  equal  allies  of   Athens,  and  their  com- 


THE   ACROPOLIS   IN   THE    FIFTH    CKNTURY 


217 


mon     treasure     was     devoted     to     the     adornment    of 

the  Athenian  Acropolis.  Pericles  called  to  his  aid  the 
sculptor  Phidias,  who  had  the  chief  direction  of  the 
work;  with  him  were  associated  the  architects  Calibra- 
tes and  Ictinus;  and  the  people  voted  an  expendi- 
ture that  insured  a  rapid   progress  with    the    buildings 


View  from  near  Temple  of  Nike. 

In  front,  Pelasgic  wall;    on  right,  Propylasa;    in  distance,  sea  and  Salamis. 

which  arose  to  fill  the  splendid  frame  that  was  pro- 
vided by  the  victories  and  the  munificence  of  Cimon. 
The  first  of  these  buildings  to  be  begun  —  though 
not  probably  the  first  to  be  finished  —  was  the  little 
temple  of  the  Wingless  Victory,  or,  to  speak  more 
accurately,  of  Athena  Nike,  which  stands  on  the  bastion 
to  the  south  of  the  entrance  to  the  Acropolis.  An 
inscription,  dating    probably  from    about    450    B.C.,   has 


2i8  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

recently  been  found,  ordering  the  construction  of  a 
gate,  a  temple,  and  an  altar  of  marble,  according  to 
the  specifications  of  the  architect  Callicrates.  The 
temple  was  seen  still  standing"  by  Wheler,  when  he 
visited  Greece  in  1676;  but  it  was  soon  after  pulled 
to  pieces  and  built  into  a  Turkish  bastion.  Some  of 
the  slabs  of  its  frieze  were  brought  to  London  by 
Lord  Elgin  ;  and  in  1835  the  bastion  was  demolished, 
and  the  stones  of  the  temple  recovered  and  put  to- 
gether again  on  their  original  foundations  by  Ross, 
Schaubert,  and  Hansen ;  only  a  few  portions  had  to  be 
replaced  by  new  pieces  of  marble ;  the  missing  slabs 
of  the  frieze  wrere  replaced  by  terra-cotta  casts  from 
the  originals  in  the  British  Museum.  The  style  of 
this  frieze  is  difficult  to  reconcile  with  the  early  date 
at  which  the  inscription  has  shown  the  building  of 
the  temple  to  have  been  ordered,  and  so  it  is  prob- 
able that  the  completion  of  the  temple,  or  at  least  the 
carving  of  the  frieze,  was  postponed  until  after  the  Par- 
thenon and  the  Propyla^a  had  been  built.  Though  the 
temple,  as  now  restored,  is  rather  patchy  and  ill-jointed 
when  seen  from  near,  it  shows  the  same  distant  effect 
that  it  originally  produced,  and  the  visitor  to  Athens 
to-day,  as  in  the  fifth  century,  is  still  impressed  by 
the  grace  of  this  little  Ionic  building,  standing  just 
in  front  of  the  great  entrance  to  the  Acropolis.  It  is 
interesting  to  know  that  the  first  building  that  one 
sees  in  approaching  the  Acropolis  was  also  the  first 
of  the  works  projected  by  Pericles. 


THE    ACROPOLIS    IN    THE    FIFTH    CENTURY         219 

In  447  B.C.,  the  work  within  the  Acropolis  was 
definitely  begun,  and,  as  valuable  materials  began  to 
accumulate  for  the  buildings  to  be  erected,  a  practical 
necessity  was  a  guard-house  or  police  station,  where  three 
ro^orat  could  be  stationed  to  prevent  fugitive  slaves  or 
thieves  from  entering  the  Acropolis.     Such  a  guard-house 


Propyl/ea  from  Nike  Bastion  in  Turkish  Times. 
From  Stuart's  Antiquities  of  Athens. 

was  accordingly  ordered,  again  to  the  specification  of 
Callic rates,  who  evidently  was  employed  as  architect  to 
the  state  at  this  time,  for  he  had  also  supervised  the 
building  of  the  Long  Walls.  At  the  same  time  the  Par- 
thenon itself,  as  we  now  know  it,  was  begun  in  the  place 
of  the  earlier  temple,  which  had  never  advanced  very 
far    toward    completion.      The    great    substructure   that 


220  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

had  been  proposed  for  it  was  not  indeed  wasted ;  but  it 
was  not  to  be  imagined  that  architects  like  Ictinus  and 
Callicrates,  to  whom  the  design  of  the  new  temple  was 
entrusted,  would  be  likely  to  content  themselves  with 
the  proportions  that  had  been  laid  down  by  a  prede- 
cessor. We  do  not  know  how  the  work  was  divided 
between  them ;  but  in  all  probability  the  perfection  of 
the  design  is  due  to  Ictinus,  who  wrote  a  book  about  the 
building,  and  was  the  more  original  and  probably  the 
younger  of  the  two ;  Callicrates  was  associated  with  him 
because  of  his  experience  in  the  execution  of  great  con- 
tracts for  the  Athenian  state.  The  substructure  was 
intended  for  a  long  and  narrow  temple,  such  as  was  cus- 
tomary in  an  earlier  age.  The  temple  designed  by 
Ictinus  was  about  fifteen  feet  shorter,  and  about  six  feet 
wider,  and  so  gives  exactly  the  proportion  of  length  to 
breadth  in  the  ratio  of  9  :  4,  which  is  far  more  symmetri- 
cal and  pleasing  to  the  eye.  At  the  western  end  it  was 
built  so  that  its  lowest  step  coincided  in  plan  with  the 
edge  of  the  earlier  substructure ;  and  consequently  the 
substructure  projects  at  the  eastern  end  the  whole  fifteen 
feet.  To  gain  the  additional  width,  it  was  necessary  to 
enlarge  the  substructure  on  the  north,  where  it  rests 
almost  immediately  on  the  rock.  The  join  in  the  work 
can  easily  be  seen  on  the  west  face,  where  the  piece 
built  on  by  Ictinus  consists  of  blocks  of  various  sizes  and 
materials,  and  evidently  was  not  intended  to  be  visible. 
This  piece  on  the  north  was,  however,  made  a  little 
broader   than   was   necessitated  by  the  new  proportions 


-J     o 


THE   ACROPOLIS    IN    THE    FIFTH    CENTURY         221 

of  the  temple,  and  the  southern  step  of  the  temple  was 
set  a  little  back  from  the  edge  of  the  substructure,  prob- 
ably in  order  to  arrange  that  the  walls  and  rows  of 
columns  and  other  heavy  masses  of  the  new  temple 
should  be  placed,  as  far  as  practicable,  where  the  founda- 
tions had  been  strengthened  to  carry  the  weight  of  the 
corresponding  parts  of  the  old  temple. 


North  End  of  West  Front  of  Parthenon. 

Showing  added  portion   of  the  substructure,   the  step   of  the  earlier   design  visible   on 

the  right. 

The  details  of  the  Parthenon  itself,  both  in  architec- 
ture and  in  sculpture,  must  be  reserved  for  a  special 
chapter;  here  wre  are  more  concerned  with  its  history 
and  use.  It  was  completed,  at  least  so  far  as  the  main 
structure  was  concerned,  by  the  year  438  B.C. ;  for  then 
the  great  gold  and  ivory  statue  of  Athena,  that  stood 
within  it,  was  dedicated ;  but  the  decoration  and  finish- 
ing of  details  was  still  going  on  in  433  B.C.,  for  we  have 


222  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

an  inscription  of  that  date  referring  to  the  work  as  still 
in  progress.  In  435  b.c.  an  important  decree  was  passed, 
regulating  the  financial  administration  of  the  sacred  and 
public  moneys  of  Athens,  including  the  Delian  treasure. 
Among  other  things,  it  is  enacted  in  this  decree  that  the 
treasures  shall  be  kept  in  the  Opisthodomus,  that  of 
Athena  being  deposited  on  the  right-hand  side,  and  that 
of  the  other  gods  on  the  left-hand  side ;  that  the  two 
boards  of  officials  who  are  respectively  responsible  for 
these  funds  shall  open  and  seal  together  the  doors  of  the 
Opisthodomus;  and  that  inventories  and  audits  shall  be 
made  periodically  both  of  these  treasures  and  of  other 
sacred  property,  and  shall  be  inscribed  upon  stelas  set  up 
in  the  Acropolis.  Accordingly,  we  find  from  this  time 
onward  numerous  inscriptions,  some  of  them  dealing 
with  the  audit  of  the  treasures  in  the  Opisthodomus, 
some  with  the  inventories  of  the  objects  dedicated  in  the 
Prodomus,  the  Hecatompedos  Neos,  and  the  Parthenon  ; 
we  actually  possess  these  last  three  lists,  continuous 
from  year  to  year  for  some  time,  beginning  with  433  B.C., 
the  year  after  the  decree  just  mentioned;  and  although 
we  do  not  possess  any  record  of  the  audit  of  the  moneys 
in  the  Opisthodomus  earlier  than  418  b.c,  there  can  be 
no  reasonable  doubt  that  they  began  in  the  same  year 
as  the  others.  A  clear  inference  from  these  facts  is  that 
the  Opisthodomus  in  question  is  the  Opisthodomus  of  the 
Parthenon,  which  practically  served,  from  the  time  of 
the  completion  of  the  building,  as  the  public  and  sacred 
treasury  or  bank  of  Athens  ;    it  was,  as  we  shall   see  in 


THE   ACROPOLIS    IN    THE    FIFTH    CENTURY         223 

the  next  chapter,  admirably  adapted  to  the  purpose. 
Before  the  Parthenon  was  ready  to  be  used,  the  sacred 
treasures  were  probably  housed  in  some  of  the  temporary 
buildings  that  have  already  been  mentioned  ;  one  of  these 
is  described  in  an  inscription  as  being  in  the  enclosure 
to  the  south  '  of  the  ancient  temple  of  Athena  in  the 
Acropolis. 

The  Parthenon  served,  then,  as  a  storehouse  for  the 
innumerable  votive  offerings  dedicated  to  the  goddess, 
so  far  as  they  were  too  precious  or  too  fragile  to  leave 
in  the  open,  and  also  as  the  bank  of  the  Athenian  state 
and  of  the  Delian  confederation.  But  its  chief  purpose 
was  to  afford  a  fitting  house  to  the  great  gold  and 
ivory  statue  of  Athena  Parthenos,  and  also,  in  itself, 
to  summarise  and  represent  all  that  was  best  in  Athe- 
nian religion.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  intention 
of  Pericles  and  his  associates,  in  this  and  in  other 
matters,  was  not  only  artistic,  but  also,  in  the  highest 
sense,  religious ;  but  we  know  that  they  cared  for  the 
spirit  more  than  for  the  letter,  and  that  their  more 
narrow-minded  and  formalist  contemporaries  accused 
them  of  sacrilege  and  atheism.  The  Parthenon  was 
their  crowning  work ;  but  we  must  remember  that  it 
had  little,  if  any,  direct  relation  to  the  orthodox  and 
official  worship  of  the  state.  The  ancient  wooden 
image    still    remained   the  visible    idol    of    the    goddess 

1  vdrodev  is  the  generally  accepted  restoration.  Even  if  we  read  with  Dorpfeld 
&wicr0ei>,  the  sense  is  similar  ;  a  building  in  an  enclosure  behind  a  temple  cannot 
mean  the  Opisthodomus  of  that  temple.  For  a  summary  of  the  whole  question,  see 
Frazer,  TI.  pp.   556,  561. 


224  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

and  the  centre  of  all  state  ceremonies;  and  it  still 
remained  without  a  worthy  temple.  In  all  probability 
Pericles  had  intended  to  transfer  it  to  the  Parthenon, 
even  if  he  could  not  succeed  in  substituting  for  it  the 
masterpiece  of  Phidias ;  but  in  this,  as  in  other  matters, 
he  was  defeated  by  the  religious  conservatism  of  his 
opponents,  and  his  magnificent  scheme  for  the  honour 
of  the  goddess  had,  in  one  way,  only  succeeded  in 
prolonging  her  homeless  state. 

After  the  completion  of  the  Parthenon,  the  next 
undertaking  of  Pericles,  begun  in  437  B.C.,  was  to 
provide  the  Acropolis  with  an  entrance  in  harmony 
with  the  beauty  of  its  walls  and  with  the  splendour 
of  the  temple  that  crowned  it.  We  have  seen  that 
his  first  project  was  to  build  the  little  temple  of  Athena 
Nike  on  the  bastion  that  flanked  the  entrance ;  his 
last  was  to  erect  the  Propylaea ;  and  the  building 
itself,  even  in  its  present  state,  affords  the  clearest 
testimony  to  the  political  and  religious  difficulties 
that  again  thwarted  his  scheme.  It  is  evidently  in- 
complete in  some  respects;  and  Professor  Dbrpfeld 
has,  by  the  most  ingenious  and  convincing  observa- 
tions, recovered  the  original  plan,  and  shown  how  and 
why  it  had  to  be  curtailed.  The  plan,  as  first  devised 
by  the  architect  Mnesicles,  was  as  follows.  There  was 
to  be  a  great  covered  hall,  divided  into  three  aisles 
by  rows  of  Ionic  columns,  leading  up  to  five  great 
doors  of  entrance,  graduated  in  size,  the  central  one 
corresponding  to  the  central  aisle.     Beyond  the  doors, 


THE   ACROPOLIS   IN   THE    FIFTH   CENTURY 


225 


toward  the  inside  of  the  Acropolis,  and  also  at  the 
entrance  of  the  hall,  facing  outwards,  there  was  to  be 
a  portico  of  six  Doric  columns.  The  outer  portico  was 
to  be  flanked  by  two  wings,  projecting  at  right  angles, 
and  supported  in  front  by  three  smaller  columns  and 
an  anta  at  the  end ;  behind  each  wing  was  to  be  a  great 


The  Proi'yl.ka  from  South  Wing. 
On  left,  temple  of  Nike;    in  middle,  pedestal  of  Agrippa. 

square  chamber,  that  on  the  north  side  entirely  walled 
in,  that  on  the  south  side  opening  by  a  colonnade 
on  to  the  bastion  with  the  temple  of  Nike.  The  great 
portico  that  faced  inward  toward  the  Acropolis  was  also 
to  be  flanked  by  two  porticoes  of  smaller  columns,  set 
parallel  to  it  but  a  little  farther  back,  and  extending  the 
whole  breadth  of   the  rock.     These   porticoes   were   to 


226  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

form  the  front  of  great  halls,  which  backed  against  the 
projecting  wings  of  the  outer  front.  A  glance  at  the 
plan  of  the  Acropolis  will  show  the  objections  to  which 
this  bold  and  original  scheme  was  open.  The  south- 
eastern hall  would  not  only  have  occupied  a  large 
portion  of  the  sacred  precinct  of  Artemis  Brauronia, 
but  would  have  necessitated  a  very  extensive  cutting 
away  of  the  rock  of  the  Acropolis;  indeed,  if  it  were 
to  have  its  proper  effect,  as  seen  from  within  the 
Acropolis,  it  would  have  been  necessary  to  level  away 
the  whole  of  the  Brauronian  precinct.  Again,  the 
south-western  wing  and  the  hall  behind  it  would  have 
encroached  considerably  on  the  precinct  of  Athena 
Nike,  and  could  not  have  been  completed  without 
demolishing  her  altar.  Under  these  circumstances  we 
cannot  but  wonder,  not  that  such  a  project  should 
have  met  with  strenuous  and  successful  opposition  from 
religious  conservatism,  but  that  any  architect  should 
have  had  the  audacity  to  propose  a  design  which 
involved  such  rude  desecration  of  some  of  the  most 
ancient  sacred  places  in  Athens.  We  can  only  suppose 
that  Mnesicles  relied  on  the  continued  predominance 
of  Pericles'  authority  to  carry  through  his  plans;  for 
Pericles  at  least,  and  probably  Phidias,  too,  must  have 
approved  of  it.  Possibly  they  may  have  had  their  own 
reasons  for  discrediting  the  worship  of  Artemis  Brau- 
ronia, whom,  with  her  bear  dances  and  other  relics  of 
primitive  savagery,  they  may  have  thought  unworthy 
to  share  the  honours  of  Athena  upon  her  chosen  hill. 


THE   ACROPOLIS   IN   THE   FIFTH   CENTURY         227 

The  plan  of  Mnesicles  had  to  be  curtailed,  and  the 
Propylcea,  though  the  pride  of  Athens  and  the  admira- 
tion of  all  subsequent  ages,  remained  in  more  than  one 
sense  unfinished.  Not  only  were  the  religious  object- 
ions maintained  against   certain   portions  of   its  extent, 


PROPYLtEA    FROM    THE    EAST. 

but  even  what  could  be  carried  out  never  received  a 
smooth  finish  either  in  walls  or  pavement ;  a  rough 
panel  is  left  projecting  over  most  of  these,  spaces  being 
smoothed  to  the  final  surface  only  at  the  corners  and 
around  the  bases  of  columns.  Outside  the  building, 
even  the  rough  projections  left  to  help  the  masons  to 
get  the  blocks  into  position  without  chipping  them 
may  still  be  seen.  These  last  signs  of  incompleteness 
are  probably  clue  to  the  fact  that  the  building  was 
still  unfinished  when,  in  432  b.c,  the  outbreak  of  the 
Peloponnesian  War  diverted  the  Athenians  from  their 
architectural    activity.      But    no    such    explanation    will 


228  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

account  for  the  other  abnormal  features  of  the  building. 
All  that  could  be  carried  out  was  the  central  hall,  with 
the  five  doorways,  and  the  porticoes  on  each  front,  the 
north-west  wing,  and  a  portion  of  the  south-west.  Yet 
Mnesicles,  although  he  must  have  been  aware,  while 
the  building  was  going  on,  that  he  would  not  be  allowed 
to  carry  out  the  rest  of  his  plan,  seems  to  have  refused 
to  alter  the  specification  for  these  parts  of  the  building 
in  any  detail,  though  they  contained  many  features 
that  are  inexplicable  in  themselves,  and  can  only  be 
understood  in  relation  to  the  missing  portions.  For 
example,  the  antae  that  face  north  and  south,  near 
either  end  of  the  great  eastern  portico,  are  at  present 
meaningless;  they  could  have  no  purpose  but  to  carry 
the  end  of  an  architrave  running  above  the  column 
fronts  of  the  projected  north-eastern  and  south-eastern 
halls.  Nor  are  such  features  restricted  to  the  ground 
plan,  which,  being  laid  out  at  the  beginning,  might 
have  been  difficult  to  modify  later.  High  up  in  the 
walls  are  holes  to  carry  the  roof  beams  of  the  projected 
halls,  and  even  an  ornamental  moulding  is  deflected, 
so  as  to  allow  for  the  slope  of  their  roof.  All  these 
things  show  either  that  Mnesicles  continued  to  hope 
against  hope  that  the  opposition  to  his  design  would 
be  withdrawn  or  overcome  by  a  new  accession  of  the 
influence  of  Pericles  in  the  state;  or  else  that  he  must 
have  clung  obstinately  to  all  that  he  could  execute  of 
the  original  plan,  perhaps  in  the  hope  that  some  later 
generation  would  complete  what  he  had  begun,  possibly 


THE   ACROPOLIS   IN   THE    FIFTH   CENTURY 


229 


even  with  prophetic  foresight  that  some  architect  of 
the  remote  future  might  recover  from  such  scanty 
indications  the  grand  design  in  which  he  took  so  much 
pride. 

The  problem  of  the  south-western  wing  is  more  com- 
plicated ;    but    here    Professor   Dorpfeld's   conjecture    as 


Propyl. ea  from  the  North-east. 
Showing  unfinished  work,  and  indications  of  projected  north-east  hall. 

to  the  original  plan  of  Mnesicles  and  its  modification 
in  execution  fits  the  actual  remains  with  an  accuracy  so 
remarkable  as  to  carry  conviction.  This  wing,  as  it 
stood  throughout  classical  times,  consisted  of  a  rec- 
tangular hall,  of  which  the  east  and  south  sides  were 
continuous  walls ;  but  the  south-east  corner,  where  these 
walls  join,  is  cut  off  obliquely,  so  as  to  be  set  as  close 


23o  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

as  possible  on  to  the  Pelasgic  wall.  The  north  face 
of  this  wing  corresponded  exactly  to  the  south  face  of 
the  north-western  wing,  consisting  of  three  columns  set 
between  antae ;  but  this  correspondence  was  produced 
in  a  very  curious  way.  The  roof  of  the  hall  did  not 
extend  beyond  the  third  column,  and  its  western  edge 
was  supported  by  a  beam  which  rested  on  this  column, 
and  was  carried  on  to  the  west  end  of  the  southern 
wall  by  the  help  of  an  intervening  pillar.  Thus  the 
western  anta  of  the  north  face  is  an  irrational  excres- 
cence ;  it  is  merely  added  to  make  a  sham  front  of  the 
width  required.  Such  a  device  is  unparalleled  in  Greek 
architecture,  and  is  utterly  unworthy  in  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  buildings  in  design  and  execution  that  have 
ever  existed.  Its  immediate  purpose  is,  of  course,  to 
obtain  apparent  symmetry  in  the  front  view  of  the 
Propylaea ;  but  we  cannot  suppose  that  Mnesicles  would 
have  attained  the  result  in  this  extraordinary  way  if 
he  had  not  been  led  to  do  so  by  the  motives  already 
suggested  —  either  a  hope  of  ultimately  completing  the 
building,  or  a  spirit  of  indignant  protest,  one  might 
almost  say  of  pique,  against  the  mutilation  of  his 
design.  That  the  former  explanation  is  the  correct 
one  in  this  case  is  practically  demonstrated  by  the 
position  of  the  south  wall  of  this  wing.  As  we  have 
seen,  the  original  plan  contemplated  a  wing  in  this 
position  corresponding  in  dimension  with  the  north-west 
wing,  but  opening  by  a  colonnade  on  to  the  bastion 
of   Nike.     The  simplest  way  to  have  abridged  this  plan, 


THE   ACROPOLIS    IN    THE    FIFTH    CENTURY         231 

if  its  complete  execution  proved  impossible,  would  have 
been  to  make  the  south-west  wing  correspond  exactly 
with  the  front  portion  or  vestibule  of  the  north-west 
wing,  omitting  the  square  hall  behind  it ;  but  this  is 
not  done,  though  it  would  have  had  the  additional 
advantage  of  not  encroaching  on  the  Pelasgian  wall 
at  the  south-east  corner.  The  motive  for  placing  the 
south  wall  where  it  is  must  be  the  following.  As  we 
possess  all  the  stones  of  the  south  anta,  and  may 
assume  that  the  intercolumniation  of  the  western  face 
was  intended  to  be  the  same  as  that  of  the  northern, 
we  can  ascertain  exactly  the  position  where  the  columns 
of  the  western  face  were  to  be  placed  ;  and  it  appears 
that  the  south  wall  would  have  stood  exactly  opposite 
to  the  second  of  them.  It  follows  that  the  wall  was 
placed  here  so  as  to  harmonise  with  the  original  scheme 
if  it  should  ever  be  carried  out;  and  although  in  this 
one  case  we  find  Mnesicles  introducing  a  modification 
into  the  practicable  part  of  his  complete  design,  we  see 
that  the  modification  is  such  as  to  confirm  the  opinion 
that  he  built  all  that  he  was  allowed  to  build  in  direct 
relation  to  his  larger  plan. 

In  its  details  the  building  shows  as  great  beauty  and 
originality  as  in  its  general  design.  Perhaps  the  most 
striking  feature  in  it  is  the  use  of  black  Eleusinian 
limestone  l  to  vary  the  white   Pentelic  marble  of  which 

1  Sometimes  incorrect'y  called  black  marble.  It  is  not  of  crystalline  texture,  but 
is  merely  a  darker  variety  of  the  blue  limestone  of  the  Acropolis  at  Athens.  The 
Greek  word  \L6os  is  of  course  used  for  both  stone  and  marble. 


232 


ANCIENT  ATHENS 


it  is  mainly  constructed.  The  full  effect  of  this  choice 
of  materials  is  difficult  to  realise  now  that  both  have 
weathered  to  tones  that  may  scarcely  be  distinguished 
from  one  another  by  a  casual  observer ;  when  both 
were  freshly  cut,  the  contrast  must  have  been  as  striking 
as  in  the  black  and  white  marble  of  a  Tuscan  church. 

The  black  lime- 
stone is  used  in 
the  central  hall 
for  a  dado  along 
both  side  walls, 
reaching  up  to 
the  level  of  the 
top  step  or  the 
sill  of  the  doors, 
which  is  also  of 
the  same  mate- 
rial ;  it  also  oc- 
curs as  a  kind  of 
sill  course  below 
the  windows  and 
the  door  in  the 
north  -  western 
wing,  and  as  the 
bottom  step  of  both  the  western  projecting  wings.  The 
columns  and  entablatures  of  the  Doric  order  are  similar 
to  those  of  the  Parthenon ;  the  Ionic  capitals  of  the 
internal  columns,  though  fragmentary,  are  the  most  per- 
fect in  form   that   are  known.     They  are  of  the  simpler 


Propyl/EA:  Side  Aisle  of  Central  Hall. 

I  .■."  of  the  doors  and  steps  visible.     Ionic  columns  on 
right;  on  left,  dado  of  black  Eleusinian  stone. 


THE   ACROPOLIS   IN   THE    FIFTH    CENTURY 


2.33 


Ionic    type,    with 
a    broad    channel 


running 


.~i 


across 


Cornice 


Dentils 


the  top  and  simple  iM\MjMMJtXSf 
volutes,  and  the 
fluting  of  the  col- 
umns  continues 
right  up  to  the 
projecting  mould- 
ing that  crowns 
the  shaft,  with  no 
intervening  band 
of  ornament.  In 
these  respects  the 
Ionic  capitals  of 
the  Propylaea  dif- 
fer from  the  more 
elaborate      and  Details  of  Ionic  °rder  (Priene)- 

decorated  columns  of  the  Erechtheum.  But  the  out- 
line of  their  volutes  has  a  subtlety  and  precision  that 
are  unequalled.  It  is  the  same  with  the  work  in 
detail  throughout ;  the  joints,  wherever  the  surface  is 
finished,  are  so  perfect  as  almost  to  have  grown 
together;  so  that  the  whole  building,  unfinished  and 
damaged  as  it  is,  must  in  many  ways  be  considered 
the  most  perfect  example  of  Greek  architecture  that 
we  possess.  It  has  been  doubted  whether  the  absence 
of  sculpture  from  the  pediments  and  metopes  of  the 
Propylaea  is  another  result   of    the  interruption   of    the 


Contmuous  frieze 


Architrave,  divided 
into  three  bands 


Capital ;  vorutes  and 
channel  between, 
them  plain 


Shaft,  with  flat  bands 
between  flutings 


Square  pedestal, 
sometimes  omitted 


234  ANCIENT  ATHENS 

work,  or  is  to  be  attributed  to  design ;  most  probably 
the  latter  explanation  is  the  true  one.  The  position 
and  use  of  the  building  favour  simplicity,  and  its  whole 
composition  depends  upon  a  combination  of  purely 
architectural  lines  which  would  lose  in  effect  by  the 
addition  of  sculptural  decoration. 

The  completion  of  the  temple  of  Athena  Nike,  and  of 
the  bastion  upon  which  it  stood,  was  a  necessary  adjunct 
to  the  building  of  the  Propylaea ;  we  have,  however,  no 
evidence  of  the  exact  date  when  this  was  done.  The 
order  for  the  erection  of  the  temple  was,  as  we  have  seen, 
passed  about  450  r.c.  The  chief  reason  for  believing 
that  it  was  not  finished  until  considerably  later  lies  in  the 
sculpture  of  the  frieze  of  the  temple,  and  of  the  balustrade 
that  surrounded  the  bastion.  These  we  must  consider 
later ;  at  present  it  concerns  us  to  note  that,  while  it  is  per- 
haps possible  to  assign  them  to  a  date  earlier  than  the  out- 
break of  the  Peloponnesian  War,  it  is  more  probable  that 
they  were  not  made  until  some  years  later ;  perhaps  they 
belong  to  the  brief  revival  of  religious  and  architectural 
activity  that  followed  the  Peace  of  Nicias.  In  addition 
to  the  completion  of  the  temple  and  the  balustrade,  the 
work  included  the  casing  of  the  north  side  of  the  bas- 
tion with  a  veneer  of  marble,  doubtless  to  make  it 
match  the  marble  structure  of  the  Propylaea;  the  holes 
of  the  tenons  for  securing  the  marble  slabs  can  still  be 
seen.  The  slabs  were  probably  cut  to  resemble  courses 
of  blocks  of  the  usual  size,  just  as  the  Piraic  limestone  of 
Cimon's  wall,  to  which  they  arc  affixed,  is  cut  to  imitate 


THE   ACROPOLIS   IN   THE    FIFTH   CENTURY 


235 


the  regular  structure  of  the  rest  of  the  wall,  where  it 
is  in  reality  only  a  thin  facing  to  cover  the  rough  blocks 
of  the  Pclaso;ic  wall  behind.  It  is  a  curious  coincidence 
that,  in  this  bastion  and  the  wing  of  the  Propylaea  imme- 
diately above  it,  the  exigencies  of  situation  or  other  con- 
ditions should  have  driven  the  builders  repeatedly  to  use 


Bastion  and  Temple  of  Nike  from  the  North. 

devices  which   appear  at    first    sight    unworthy    of    the 
simplicity  and  honesty  of    Greek  architecture. 

Though  the  Parthenon  was  probably  intended  by  its 
builders  Jto  replace  the  old  temple  of  Athena,  destroyed 
by  the  Persians,  as  the  chief  centre  of  the  state  worship 
of  Athens,  the  intention  was  never  carried  out,  owing 
probably  to  a  feeling  of    religious    conservatism.     The 


236  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

ancient  image  of  Athena,  and  the  rites  of  which  it  was 
the  object,  thus  remained  without  any  adequate  architec- 
tural provision,  even  after  the  most  beautiful  temple  of 
antiquity  had  been  built  in  the  honour  of  the  goddess. 
It  would  naturally  devolve  upon  those  who  opposed  the 
transference  of  the  official  cult  from  the  ancient  site  to 
see  that  this  deficiency  should  continue  no  longer  to 
exist ;  and  as  it  was  Pericles  and  the  war  party  that  had 
been  mainly  concerned  with  the  building  of  the  Parthe- 
non, the  peace  party,  under  the  leadership  of  Nicias, 
may  probably  be  credited  with  the  project  of  building 
the  Erechtheum,  upon  the  actual  site  where  the  sacred 
symbols  of  Athena  and  Posidon  were  to  be  seen.  Their 
opportunity  for  doing  this  most  probably  came  when  the 
Peace  of  Nicias,  in  421  B.C.,  gave  the  Athenians  a  brief 
respite  from  the  stress  of  the  war.  It  is  not  known 
whether  there  was  any  earlier  temple  on  the  spot  where 
the  Erechtheum  afterward  stood ;  there  are  no  visible 
rock-cut  foundations  or  other  traces  of  such  a  building; 
and  it  is  perhaps  more  probable  that  the  sacred  well,  the 
trident-mark,  and  the  olive  were  originally  out  of  doors  in 
the  precinct  of  the  old  temple  of  Athena,  of  which  the 
foundations  still  remain,  and  not  within  any  building  at 
all ;  the  olive,  indeed,  always  remained  outside  in  the  Pan- 
droseum.  The  work  on  the  Erechtheum,  after  making 
considerable  progress  toward  completion,  appears  to  have 
been  abandoned  under  the  pressure  of  political  and  mili- 
tary disasters.  But  in  409  B.C.,  after  the  victory  of  Cyzicus 
had    restored   the   naval   supremacy  of  Athens  and   the 


THE   ACROPOLIS   IN    THE    FIFTH    CENTURY 


237 


Erechtheum  from  the  South-east. 
In  front,  fallen  columns  of  Parthenon. 

renewed  democracy  had  established  order  at  home,  it  was 
resolved  to  appoint  a  commission  to  survey  the  state  of 
the  building,  in  order  to  note  what  was  still  required  for 
its  completion.  We  fortunately  possess  both  the  report 
of  this  commission  and  the  accounts  of  the  work  that  was 
consequently  undertaken.  From  them  we  learn  that 
almost  the  whole  structure  of  the  building  was  already 
standing  before  the  commission  began  its  work,  and  that 
many  of  the  stones  not  yet  in  position  were  lying  ready,  or 
nearly  ready,  on  the  ground.1     All  that  was  left  to  do  was 

1  Thus  there  was  too  little  work  left  to  admit  of  Professor  Bury's  suggestion 
{History  of  Greece,  p.  498)  that  Cleophon  started  it  to  employ  the  indigent.  Even 
if  it  were  not  so,  the  kind  of  labour  required  for  the  Erechtheum  was  far  too  skilled 
to  be  of  any  use  to  "the  unemployed,"  except,  perhaps,  the  making  up  of  the  terrace 
to  the  south  and  east  of  it. 


238  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

to  complete  the  top  courses  and  roof,  to  flute  most  of  the 
columns,  to  carve  some  of  the  ornamental  mouldings,  to 
give  the  final  polish  to  the  surface  of  the  walls,  and  to 
carve  the  sculpture  of  the  frieze.  This  work  was  proba- 
bly completed  during  the  following  year ;  but  in  406  b.c 
we  are  informed  by  Xenophon  that  the  ancient  temple 
on  the  Acropolis  was  set  on  fire.  This  passage  is  gen- 
erally supposed  to  refer  to  the  Erechtheum,  which 
though  but  recently  finished  may  well  be  supposed  to 
have  taken,  in  popular  speech,  the  name  of  the  old  tem- 
ple which  it  replaced  ; 1  its  official  name  was  "  the  temple 
containing  the  old  statue."  We  cannot  tell  how  much 
damage  was  done  by  the  fire,  but  it  is  unlikely  that  it 
destroyed  the  building  entirely,  any  more  than  a  fire  in 
the  Opisthodomus  of  the  Parthenon,  which  happened 
sometime  after  the  archonship  of  Euclides,  destroyed 
the  Parthenon.  In  this  latter  case  the  officials  who 
were  mainly  concerned  about  the  fire  were  the  treasurers 
of  the  moneys  kept  there.  So,  too,  in  the  Erechtheum, 
the  damage  may  have  been  mainly  to  the  contents  of  the 
temple,  though  it  is  probable  that  some  injury  may 
have  been  done  to  the  roof  and  to  the  wooden  fittings, 
and  it  is  very  probable  that  the  engaged  columns  of  the 
western  end   may  have  been  so  charred  that,  although 

1  The  only  other  alternative  is  to  refer  the  passage  to  the  older  temple,  and  sup- 
pose its  eella  was  rebuilt  after  its  destruction  by  the  Persians.  In  addition  to  the 
obvious  objei  tion  that  if  still  standing  in  406  B.C.,  it  would  have  completely  hidden 
the  Caryatid  Porch,  we  may  note  here  that  the  chief  purpose  of  restoring  it  would 
have  been  to  give  shelter  to  the  old  statue;  and,  if  so,  that  statue  would  not  have 
been  already  transferred  to  the  Erechtheum  in  409  B.C.,  when  that  building  was  still 
unfinished. 


THE   ACROPOLIS   IN   THE    FIFTH    CENTURY         239 

not  requiring  to  be  replaced  immediately,  they  subse- 
quently decayed  and  had  to  be  renewed  in  Roman  times. 
The  damage  was  not  repaired  immediately,  as  Athens 
was  already  in  the  final  throes  of  the  Peloponnesian 
War;  but  an  inscription1  of  395-394  B.C.,  which  almost 
certainly  refers  to  these  repairs,  mentions  that  some  of 
the  damage  to  be  made  good  was  on  the  side  of  the 
Pandroseum,  where  these  engaged  columns  stood;  there 
are  also  signs  of  repair  in  the  lintel  of  the  great  north 
doorway,  which  might  easily  have  been  cracked  by  a  fire 
in  the  western  end  of  the  building.  With  the  exception 
of  these  details,  we  may  probably  assume,  in  spite  of  the 
fire,  that  the  building  which  we  may  still  see  on  the 
Acropolis  is  the  same  that  was  erected  by  the  Athenians 
during  the  intervals  of  the  Peloponnesian  War.  The 
extreme  crispness  and  clearness  of  the  work  in  detail 
is  an  indication  of  a  fifth-century  rather  than  a  fourth- 
century  origin.  But  we  must  reserve  our  considera- 
tion of  these  details  for  their  special  chapter.  Here 
we  are  concerned  only  with  the  history  of  the  Erech- 
theum,  which  concludes,  so  far  as  we  know  it,  the 
architectural  history  of  the  Acropolis  during  the  fifth 
century. 

We  should,  however,  form  a  very  inadequate  notion  of 
the  appearance  of  the  Acropolis  at  the  close  of  the  fifth 
century,  if  we  confined  our  attention  to  the  temples  and 
other  buildings  that  stood  upon  it.  All  the  numerous 
votive  offerings  of  an  earlier  a^e  had  also  been  broken 

1  CIA.  II.  829. 


24o  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

or  destroyed  by  the  Persians,  and  the  Athenians,  on 
their  return,  did  not  trouble  to  repair  them,  but  buried 
them  to  form  part  of  the  rubbish  that  terraced  up  the 
Acropolis.  The  only  recorded  exception  is  in  the  case 
of  some  statues  of  Athena,  charred  with  fire,  that  were 
probably  left  to  remind  later  generations  of  the  Persian 
invasion,  just  as  the  smoke-blackened  walls  of  some  of 
the  burnt  temples  were  allowed  to  remain  for  the  same 
purpose.  Of  the  rest  of  the  statues  and  other  dedications 
seen  by  Pausanias  when  he  visited  Athens,  the  great 
majority  were  set  up  between  the  Persian  Wars  and  the 
close  of  the  fifth  century.  Of  course  he  only  professes 
to  give  a  selection  ;  but  those  which  appeared  to  him, 
and  would  probably  also  have  appeared  to  us,  the  most 
interesting  belonged  mostly  to  this  period.  We  are 
able,  therefore,  to  draw  up  a  fairly  extensive  list  of  the 
statues  that  were  dedicated  on  the  Acropolis  in  the  fifth 
century ;  in  following  this  list  we  must  allow  ourselves 
the  same  right  of  selection  that  he  allowed  himself,  and 
notice  especially  those  of  which,  from  Pausanias  or  other 
sources,  we  know  more  than  the  mere  name. 

The  first  votive  offering  seen  by  Pausanias  on  mount- 
ing to  the  Acropolis  was  that  of  the  Athenian  knights, 
—  two  equestrian  statues  placed  upon  pedestals  at  the 
extreme  corners  of  the  wings  of  the  Propyla^a,  on  either 
side  of  the  entrance.  The  bases  of  these  statues  have 
recently  been  recovered  ;  and  as  they  have  two  inscrip- 
tions, which  are  set  different  ways  upon  the  two  sides  of 
the  basis,  and  also  show  signs  of  being  recut  at  a  later 


THE   ACROPOLIS   IN    THE    FIFTH    CENTURY         241 

date,  there  is  some  difficulty  in  ascertaining  their  exact 
history.  The  inscriptions  show  that  they  were  dedicated 
by  the  Athenian  knights,  from  the  spoil  of  a  successful 
exploit  in  which  their  leaders  were  Laceckemonius, 
probably  the  son  of  Cimon,  Xenophon,  possibly  the 
grandfather1  of  the  historian,  and  Pronapus.  The  date  of 
this  exploit  must  have  been  about  the  middle  of  the  fifth 
century ;  the  statues  were  made  by  Lycius,  the  son  of 
Myron.  The  hall  that  forms  the  back  part  of  the  north- 
western wing  of  the  Propyloea  was  devoted  to  pictures.2 
We  have  a  list  of  their  subjects,  and  Polemo  is  said  to  have 
written  a  whole  treatise  upon  them ;  but  now  it  is  diffi- 
cult for  us  to  realise  what  they  were  like.  Some  of  them 
were  by  Polygnotus ;  the  subjects  were  mostly  from 
heroic  legend,  episodes  of  the  Trojan  War,  and  Perseus 
with  the  head  of  Medusa.  There  was  also  a  picture 
recording  the  victory  of  Alcibiades  in  the  chariot-race 
at  the  Nemean  games ;  he  was  represented  as  sweated 
in  the  lap  of  Nemea,  and  crowned  also  by  personi- 
fications of  the  Olympian  and  Pythian  festivals.  This 
is  a  curious  example  of  Greek  allegory ;  but  it  is  still 
more  remarkable  as  showing  the  arrogance  of  Alci- 
biades ;  it  is  little  to  be  wondered  at  that  such  a  dedi- 

1  The  name  is  not  uncommon;  but  the  names  Xenophon  and  Gryllus  seem  to 
alternate  in  generations  of  the  family;  and  Xenophon's  interest  in  cavalry  training 
and  tactics  may  well  be  hereditary.  The  doubt  expressed  by  Pausanias  whether  or 
no  they  are  the  sons  of  Xenophon,  shows  he  must  have  jotted  down  on  the  spot  the 
name  Eei'o^wi'Tos  from  the  inscription,  and  forgotten,  or  not  noticed,  the  context; 
unless,  indeed,  he  recorded  the  mistake  of  an  ignorant  guide. 

2  The  name  Pinacotheke,  given  it  in  some  modern  works,  has  no  ancient 
authoritv. 


242  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

cation  met  with  disapproval  as  "  fit  for  a  tyrant  and  con- 
trary to  the  law." 

Within  the  Propylaea  were  several  statues.  One 
of  Hermes  Propylaeus  perhaps  stood  before  the  gate 
of  the  Acropolis  much  as  the  hermae  stood  before 
houses.  It  has  been  conjectured  with  some  probability 
that  he  may  have  stood  in  one  of  the  niches  formed  by 
the  projecting  antas  on  either  side  of  the  court  of  en- 
trance. A  relief  of  the  Graces,  said  to  have  been  made 
by  Socrates,  was  also  shown  here ;  he  is  known  to  have 
been  a  sculptor  in  his  youth,  and  such  a  relic  of  him 
might  well  have  been  preserved ;  there  is,  however,  no 
ground  for  the  identification  of  this  work  in  any  extant 
representation  of  the  subject ;  it  was  valued,  probably, 
for  the  sake  of  the  author  rather  than  for  its  artistic 
merit,  and  there  are  many  examples  of  the  type  of 
various  periods,  some  of  them  found  in  this  region 
where  there  was  probably  an  early  shrine  of  the 
Graces.  In  the  central  hall  of  the  Propylaea1  was  a 
bronze  lioness  made  by  the  artist  Amphicrates,  and 
set  up  as  a  memorial  of  Leaena  the  courtesan.  She 
was  an  associate  of  Harmodius  and  Aristogiton;  but, 
though  tortured  to  death  by  Hippias,  she  refused  to 
disclose  her  knowledge  of  their  plot.  The  Athenians, 
it  is  said,  thinking  her  fortitude  worthy  of  a  monument, 

1  That  the  lioness,  etc.,  wen-  in  the  Propylaea  is  an  inference  from  the  position 
of  the  statue  of  Athena  Hygieia  mentioned  below,  This  would  naturally  be  the  first 
thing  seen  on  emerging  from  the  Propylaea;  but  is  quite  possible  that  all  were  to- 
gether inside  tin  Acropolis,  past  the  Propylaea,  and  that  Pausanias  saw  them  first 
before  be  turned  back  to  look  at  the  .Athena,  standing  with  her  hack  to  the  columns 
"i  the  front.     It  is  impossible  to  decide  this  question. 


THE   ACROPOLIS   IN   THE    FIFTH    CENTURY         243 

but  not  deeming  it  fitting  to  dedicate  a  statue  of  such 
a  person  on  the  Acropolis,  set  up  in  memory  of  her  a 
lioness  without  a  tongue.  Near  by  was  a  statue  of 
Aphrodite  by  Calamis,  dedicated  by  Callias;  the  basis 
may  still  be  seen,  but  it  has  been  moved  to  the  eastern 
front  of  the  Propylrea.  This  was  probably  the  statue 
known  as  the  Sosandra,  selected  by  Lucian  to  give  to 
his  statue  of  ideal  beauty  some  of  its  most  graceful 
features.  "  Then,"  he  says,  "  the  Sosandra  and  Calamis 
shall  crown  her  with  modest  courtesy,  and  her  smile 
shall  be  noble  and  unconscious  as  the  Sosandra's,  and 
the  comely  arrangement  and  order  of  her  drapery  shall 
come  from  the  Sosandra,  except  that  she  shall  have  her 
head  uncovered."  The  quaint  grace  of  this  statue 
must  have  charmed  the  late  Greek  critics,  just  as  an 
early  Italian  painting  charms  us  at  the  present  day. 
Still  in  the  Propylaea  was  another  statue  of  which  we 
almost  certainly  possess  a  representation  on  a  vase,  and, 
very  probably,  also  a  marble  copy.  This  is  a  statue 
of  the  general  Diitrephes,  who  was  represented  as 
wounded  by  arrows.  What  is  probably  the  basis  of 
this  statue  has  been  found,  though  not  in  situ ;  its 
inscription  shows  that  the  Diitrephes  in  question 
was  not,  as  Pausanias  thought,  the  man  who  led 
the  Thracian  mercenaries  in  their  brutal  raid  on 
Mycalessus  in  413  B.C.,  but  an  earlier  namesake,  who 
fell   in   battle  about  450   b.c.1     The   basis   also  tells  us 

1  This  is  Furtwangler's  suggestion  {Masterpieces,  p.  123),  and  is  the  most  reason- 
able of  the  many  hypotheses  proposed. 


244  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

that  the  sculptor  was  Cresilas,  and  it  is  extremely 
probable  that  this  wounded  Diitrephes  was  the  famous 
"wounded  and  fainting  man,  in  whom  one  can  feel  how 
little  life  is  left."1  On  a  lecythus  of  about  the  same 
period  as  the  basis  is  a  figure  of  a  warrior,  wounded 
with  arrows,  and  staggering  with  his  feet  wide  apart ; 
and  Professor  Furtwangler  has  pointed  out  that  the 
torso  of  a  wounded  warrior  at  Naples,  if  its  modern 
restoration  be  removed,  corresponds  very  nearly  with 
the  position  of  the  figure  on  the  lecythus,  and  also 
with  the  marks  upon  the  basis.  The  style,  with  its 
vigorous  and  lifelike  study  of  a  wounded  figure,  yet 
far  removed  from  the  more  dramatic  and  pathological 
treatment  of  Pergamene  art,  is  just  what  we  should 
expect  from  Cresilas.  It  would  seem  that  the  death 
of  Diitrephes,  either  from  its  circumstances  or  from 
the  way  in  which  it  was  treated  by  the  sculptor,  made 
a  great  impression  on  his  contemporaries. 

Just  beside  the  eastern  front  of  the  Propyl a?a  there 
stands  a  basis,  set  against  one  of  the  columns,  and  bear- 
ing an  inscription  saying  that  the  statue  of  Athena 
Hygieia  which  it  bore  was  dedicated  by  the  Athenians 
and  made  by  the  sculptor  Pyrrhus.  This  statue  was 
associated  by  tradition  with  an  interesting  story.  It 
was  said  that  one  of  the  workmen  employed  on  the 
Propylxa,2  a  favourite   slave   of    Pericles,  fell    from  the 

1  See  Gardner's  Handbook  of  Greek  Sculpture,  p.  318. 

'-'  There  seems  little  reason  to  dispute  the  story  because  one  variation  says  it  was 
a  temple  on  the  Acropolis  on  which  the  man  was  employed,     There  are  some  other 


THE   ACROPOLIS   IN   THE    FIFTH    CENTURY         245 


building  and  was  badly  injured.  But  Athena  appeared 
in  a  vision  to  Pericles  and  bade  him  make  use  of  the 
herb  parthenium,  by  the  aid  of  which  the  man  was 
cured ;  and  Pericles 
in  gratitude  set  up 
a  statue  of  Athena 
Hygieia  on  the  spot. 
The  peculiar  posi- 
tion of  the  pedestal, 
backing  against  one 
of  the  columns  of 
the  Propyloea,  har- 
monises well  with 
the  tale ;  and  the 
herb  referred  to, 
which  is  not  what 
we  call  parthenium, 
but  is  known  in 
modern  Greek  as 
avtfx6)(opTo  and  in 
Italian  as  erba  dc  veuto,  grows  freely  on  the  Acropolis, 
and  especially  in  this  part  of  it.  It  is  still  popularly 
used  for  medicinal  purposes.1  A  little  way  in  front  of 
the  statue  is  an  altar,  which  faced  away  from  the 
statue,  and  is  one  of  several  indications  that  there  was 
a  shrine  at  this  spot  to  Athena,  as  goddess  of  healing, 

difficulties  pointed  out  by  Wolters  in  Mitth.  Ath.  1891,  p.  153;   but  on  the  whole  the 
story  seems  well  authenticated. 

1 1  owe  this  information  to  Professor  von  Heldreich. 


Inscribed  Basis  of  Statue  of  Athena  Hygieia 

by  Pyrrhus. 

At  the  foot  of  a  column  of  the  Propylsea. 


246  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

before  the  worship  of  Asclepius  was  introduced  into 
Athens. 

Between  this  spot  and  the  entrance  of  the  precinct 
of  Artemis  Brauronia  were  many  dedications,  of  which 
the  sockets  may  still  be  seen  cut  in  the  rock.  Among 
these  were  the  Perseus  of  Myron,  a  famous  work  of 
which  some  copies  have  been  identified  —  but  with  no 
great  degree  of  probability  —  among  extant  statues;  and 
a  boy  with  a  bowl  of  holy  water,  by  Myron's  son, 
Lycius.  Lycius  seems  to  have  excelled  in  what  may 
be  called  religious  "genre  " ;  and  this  statue  may  prob- 
ably have  had  a  practical  use,  as  providing  the  holy 
water  usually  placed  at  the  entrance  of  an  ancient 
precinct,  as  of  a  modern  Roman  Catholic  church,  for 
symbolical  ablution.  It  may  have  served  this  purpose 
for  those  entering  the  Brauronian  precinct  —  or,  possibly, 
for  those  entering  the  Acropolis  itself. 

Beyond  the  steps  that  led  up  to  the  Brauronian  pre- 
cinct, the  main  path  led  along  the  northern  side  of  the 
Parthenon  toward  its  eastern  front,  and  was  bordered  on 
each  side  by  rows  of  statues  and  other  offerings.  First 
came  a  colossal  bronze  image  of  the  wooden  horse  of 
Troy,  by  the  sculptor  Strongylion  —  a  work  probably 
alluded  to  by  Aristophanes  in  the  Birds ;]  the  Greeks 
were  peeping  out  of  its  side,  among  them  the  Athenian 
heroes  being  naturally  the  most  prominent.  Then 
there  was  a  statue  of  Epicharinus  as  a  runner  in  the 
armed   race ;    a    fine    subject   for   Critius   and    Nesiotes, 

1 1. 1 128. 


THE   ACROPOLIS    IN   THE    FIFTH   CENTURY         247 

whose  work  we  know  in  the  Tyrannicides.  Two  other 
statues  honoured  the  prowess  of  Hermolycus  the  pan- 
cratiast,  who  was  awarded  the  prize  for  the  most  dis- 
tinguished valour  in  the  great  victory  over  the  Persians 
at  Mvcale,  and  of  Phormio,  whose  brilliant  naval  vie- 
tories  over  greatly  superior  numbers  off  Naupactus 
form  one  of  the  most  exciting  episodes  of  the  earlier 
years  of  the  Peloponnesian  War.  Then  there  was  an- 
other work  of  Myron's,  of  which  we  have  several  copies ; 
it  represented  Athena  throwing  away  in  disgust  the 
flutes  that  had  distorted  her  face,  and  the  satyr  Mar- 
syas,  who,  while  approaching  to  pick  them  up,  starts  back 
in  astonishment,  perhaps  at  the  goddess'  indignation. 
The  statue  of  Marsyas  is  second  only  to  the  Discobolus 
as  an  example  of  the  sculptor's  characteristic  achieve- 
ment—  the  expression  of  violent  motion  as  implied  in 
the  moment  of  rest  that  precedes  or  succeeds  it.  On 
the  other  side  of  the  path  !  was  a  row  of  heroic  subjects 
of  which  we  have  no  very  definite  information  — 
Theseus  and  the  Minotaur,  Phrixus  sacrificing  the 
Ram  with  the  Golden  Fleece,  and  the  infant  Heracles 
strangling  the  serpents.  Then,  about  opposite  the  two 
ends  of  the  Parthenon,  were  two  groups  that  repro- 
duced the  subjects  that  were  treated  in  the  two 
pediments  of  the  building,  —  the  birth  of  Athena  from 
the  head  of  Zeus,  and  the  contest  of  Athena  and   Posi- 

1  Professor  Dorpfeld  has  suggested  (Mitth.  Ath.  XII.  p.  53)  an  ingeniously  sym- 
metrical arrangement  of  these  offerings,  from  Pausanias'  list ;  it  is  rejected  by 
Miss  Harrison  (p.  528,  Note  68)  on  the  ground  that  Pausanias  purposes  to  give 
only  a  selection,  not  a  complete  list. 


248  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

don  for  the  land  of  Attica,  she  producing  the  sacred 
olive  as  her  gift,  and  he  a  salt  spring.  Each  of  these 
groups  seems  to  have  been  set,  not  opposite  the  pedi- 
ment with  the  same  subject,  but  opposite  to  the  other 
one.  The  second,  at  least,  which  is  probably  repro- 
duced on  certain  coins  and  a  relief,  varies  considerably 
in  treatment  from  the  pediment :  it  represented  Athena 
and  Posidon  standing  in  friendly  colloquy,  on  either 
side  of  her  olive  tree.  The  historical  relation  of  the 
groups  to  the  pediments  is  not  easy  to  establish  ;  but  it 
seems  improbable  that  after  the  comple- 
tion of  the  Parthenon  and  the  universal 
acknowledgment  of  its  perfection,  vari- 
ants of  its  two  chief  groups  of  sculpture 
should  have  been  set  up  beside  it.  It 
Athenian  Coin.        js  per]iapS  mGre  probable  that  they  were 

Group    of   Athena,  ,  .  .    .  r  .  . 

Posidon,  oiive  alternative  compositions  tor  the  central 

tree,  and  snake.  groups,  prepared  at  the  time,  very  likely 
in  one  of  those  competitions  which  we  know  to  have  been 
not  uncommon  on  such  occasions.  It  is  a  tempting  sug- 
gestion that  the  tale  of  a  competition  between  Phidias 
and  Alcamenes  for  a  statue  of  Athena  to  be  set  up 
above  columns  is  to  be  referred  to  the  models  for  the 
Parthenon  pediments,  and  that  the  rejected  designs 
of  Alcamenes  were  set  up  on  the  Acropolis  beside  the 
Parthenon,  as  being  worthy  of  preservation.1  Close  by 
was  another  work  of  Alcamenes,  Procne  with   her  child 

1  I  am  not  sure  if  this  rather  obvious  suggestion  has  been  made  by  any  one  else  ; 
it  is  hinted  at  in  my  Handbook  of  Sculpture^  \>.  3x1. 


THE   ACROPOLIS   IN    THE    FIFTH    CENTURY         249 

Itys.  This  work  is  perhaps  preserved  to  us  in  a  statue 
of  a  draped  female  figure  with  a  boy  leaning  against 
her,  which  was  found  on  the  Acropolis  and  may  still 
be  seen  there.1  The  style  of  the  statue  is  in  accordance 
with  what  we  know  of  Alcamenes,  though  the  execution 
is  hardly  such  as  we  should  expect  in  an  original  by 
one  of  the  great  masters  of  antiquity.  A  work  by 
another  of  the  companions  of  Phidias,  Clecetas,  was 
noted  for  the  delicacy  of  its  finish;  it  represented  a 
helmeted  man,  and  the  finger-nails  were  inlaid  with 
silver.  Clecetas  was  evidently  one  of  the  most  skilful 
craftsmen  of  his  time,  for  he  was  also  employed  to  make 
the  gold  and  ivory  table  that  held  the  wreaths  for  the 
victors  at  Olympia.  To  the  north-west  of  the  Par- 
thenon, near  the  great  altar  of  Athena,  was  the  statue  of 
Zeus  Polieus,  —  an  archaic,  striding  figure,  as  we  learn 
from  coins,  —  and  the  altar  of  the  god,  which  was  the 
centre  of  the  strange  ceremony  of  the  sacrifice  at  the 
Dipolia.  On  this  occasion,  those  who  had  assisted  in 
the  sacrifice  shifted  from  one  to  another  the  responsi- 
bility for  the  death  of  the  ox,  until  at  last  the  axe  or  the 
knife  was  found  guilty  and  thrown  into  the  sea;  then 
the  ox-hide  was  sewn  together  and  stuffed.  The  guilt 
of  murder  in  the  sacrifice  and  the  fictitious  resurrection 
of  the  victim  are  evidently  survivals  from  a  very  primi- 
tive stage  of  ritual. 

The  official    inventories    give  us  very  complete    lists 
of  the  votive  offerings  to  be   seen  in  the  various  com- 

1  Antike  Denkmdler,  II.  22. 


j»5o  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

partments  of  the  Parthenon ;  they  naturally  consisted 
of  smaller,  more  perishable,  or  more  precious  objects, 
such  as  could  not  be  left  in  the  open.  It  will  be  best 
to  leave  these  for  the  more  detailed  description  of 
the  Parthenon  itself  in  the  next  chapter,  and  to  con- 
tinue with  what  was  to  be  seen  outside  the  temples. 
Proceeding  from  the  Parthenon  toward  the  south- 
east, in  the  direction  of  the  modern  museum,  we 
notice  first  a  statue  said  to  be  by  Phidias,  Apollo 
Parnopius,  the  locust  god ;  unfortunately  we  have  no 
means  of  identifying  the  type,  either  from  artistic  or 
from  mythological  evidence.  Here,  also,  were  more 
statues  of  well-known  men,  including  Xanthippus,  the 
father  of  Pericles,  who  distinguished  himself  also  as 
a  general  by  leading  the  land  force  at  the  battle  of 
Mycale,  and  the  poet  Anacreon,  who  was  represented, 
according  to  Pausanias,  as  "  singing  like  a  man  flushed 
with  wine."  Of  this  last  statue  we  probably  possess 
some  copies,  which  show  the  dignity  with  which  such 
a  subject  could  be  treated  in  the  fifth  century;  the 
poet  is  standing,  with  his  head  thrown  back  in  lyric 
as  well  as  Bacchic  enthusiasm.1  We  do  not  know 
what  buildings  occupied  the  eastern  end  of  the  Acropo- 
lis, but  there  seem  to  have  been  few  noted  offerings 
set  up  in  this  region  ;  probably  there  were  some  store- 
houses, of  which  the  foundations  still  remain  and  have 
been  partly  used  for  the  modern  museums.  Near  the 
Erechtheum  our  list    of    offerings  begins    again;    there 

1  Brunn-lkuckmann,  Dcnkmalcr,  426. 


THE   ACROPOLIS   IN   THE   FIFTH   CENTURY 


251 


was  a  seated  figure  of  Athena  by  Endceus,  which,  if 
not  to  be  identified  with  certainty  as  a  statue  actually 
discovered,  must  have  been  very  like  it.  Adjoining 
the  Erechtheum  on  the  west  was  the  open  court  of 
the  Pandroseum,  with  the  sacred 
olive  of  Athena  growing  in  it, 
and  below  it  the  altar  of  Zeus 
'EpKelos,  probably  a  survival  from 
the  palace  of  Erechtheus.  The 
space  to  the  west  of  this,  between 
the  foundations  of  the  peristyle 
of  the  old  temple  and  the  north 
wall  of  the  Acropolis,  was  prob- 
ably taken  up  by  the  dwelling- 
house  and  playground  or  tennis 
court  of  the  maidens  known  as 
the  Errhephori,  who  lived  in  the 
service  of  Athena  here  for  a  year, 
and,  at  the  end  of  it,  carried  a 
box  which  they  might  not  open 
down  a  mysterious  cleft  in  the  earth  near  the  Ilissus.1 
On  the  other  side  of  the  Erechtheum,  the  platform  on 
which  the  old  temple  once  stood  offered  an  excellent 
space  for  setting  up  votive  offerings,  and  we  accordingly 

1  It  is  sometimes  suggested  that  this  is  identical  with  the  cleft  through  which  the 
Persians  ascended  (see  p.  47) ;  but  the  words  of  Pausanias  show  that  the  cleft  in 
question  was  not  one  by  which  the  maidens  descended  from  the  Acropolis  to  the 
shrine  near  "  the  Gardens,"  but  a  cleft  in  that  shrine.  It  seem;  probable  that  the 
shrine  in  question  may  have  been  that  of  earth  (Ge  Olvmpia),  and  the  cleft  may 
be  the  same  one  by  which  the  waters  of  Deucalion's  deluge  were  said  to  have  dis- 
appeared. 


W  m*-  ;< 

w^pf1 1 

F       1 

lyiC; 

.  jr   '**.  m 

-'  M 

u 

^■c 

1 

W\ 

«>M 

wtk 

Early   Seated    Statue 
Athena. 
Possibly  by  Endceus. 


252  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

find  another  continuous  row  extending  down  to  the  north 
of  the  entrance  through  the  Propylaea,  and  correspond- 
ing to  the  row  we  have  already  noticed,  stretching 
from  the  south  of  the  entrance  up  to  the  Parthenon. 
Close  to  the  Erechtheum  were  the  early  charred  images 
of  Athena  left  as  a  relic  of  the  Persian  Wars.  There 
were  two  groups  of  warriors  facing  one  another  in  com- 
bat, such  as  are  familiar  to  us  in  the  yEginetan  pedi- 
ments ;  one  of  these  represented  Heracles  and  Cycnus ; 
the  other,  of  Erechtheus  and  Eumolpus,  may  perhaps  be 
identical  with  Myron's  Erechtheus,1  one  of  his  most 
famous  works ;  there  were,  as  we  have  seen  already, 
several  other  works  by  Myron  in  this  neighbourhood ; 
among  them  was  his  famous  heifer,  a  marvel  of  realistic 
animal  sculpture,  if  we  may  judge  from  the  numerous 
epigrams  that  were  written  about  it.  Here,  too,  was  a 
statue  of  the  Athenian  general  Tolmides,  who  distin- 
guished himself  when  the  empire  of  Athens  was  at 
its  height,  and  fell  at  Coronea  in  447  B.C.  There 
were  also  representations  of  some  of  the  exploits  of 
Theseus,  —  his  finding  of  his  father's  shoes  and  sword 
beneath  the  rock  where  they  were  hidden,  and  his 
capture  of  the  Cretan  bull.  A  statue  that  it  may  sur- 
prise us,  as  it  surprised  Pausanias,  to  find  upon  the 
Athenian  Acropolis  is  that  of  Cylon ;  for  although  he 
was  a  victorious  athlete,  his  disastrous  attempt  at  tyr- 
anny forfeited  any  claim  he  had  to  commemoration  by 
the  citizens.     The  most  probable  explanation  is  that  the 

1  So  Michaelis,  Mitth.  Ath.  II.  p.  85. 


THE   ACROPOLIS   IN    THE    FIFTH    CENTURY         253 

statue  was  set  up  to  expiate  the  violation  of  the  sanc- 
tuary of  Athena  by  the  massacre  of  his  accomplices. 
His  statue  was  set  up  close  to  the  colossal  bronze 
Athena  of  Phidias.  Just  to  the  north-east  of  the  Propy- 
laea  was  a  memorial  of  one  of  the  most  brilliant  victories 
in  the  history  of  the  Athenians,  when  they  defeated  the 
Boeotians  and  the  Chalcidians  in  two  battles  in  a 
single  day  in  507  B.C.  It  was  a  four-horse  chariot 
in  bronze,  made  from  a  tithe  of  the  ransom  of  the 
prisoners  they  took,  whose  fetters  were  still  to  be 
seen  in  the  days  of  Herodotus,  hanging  on  the  smoke- 
blackened  remains  of  a  wall  close  by.1  The  inscription 
of  dedication  on  the  pedestal,  which  has  been  found, 
dates  from  shortly  after  the  middle  of  the  fifth  cen- 
tury; doubtless  the  original  statue  and  basis  were  de- 
stroyed or  carried  off  by  the  Persians,  and  new  ones 
were  set  up  when  the  Athenians  were  making  claim 
to  supremacy  over  those  they  had  conquered  before. 

In  addition  to  the  numerous  dedications  there  were 
many  official  documents,  such  as  decrees  or  treaties, 
which  were  interesting  not  only  for  their  contents,  but 
also  for  the  reliefs  which  were  often  carved  above  them. 
One  of  these  showing  Athena  and  Hera  clasping  hands, 
as  a  symbol  of  the  alliance  of  Athens  and  Samos,  may 
be  taken  as  typical  of  its  class. 

1  There  is  no  difficulty  in  understanding  Herodotus'  words  apurTipys  xeP&s  Trp&rov 
i<ri6vTi  is  to.  UpoTrvXaia  as  meaning  "  on  the  left  as  you  enter  the  Propylasa,"  i.e. 
within  the  Acropolis,  where  Pausanias  saw  it.  We  must  remember  that  the  Pro- 
pylsea  seen  by  Herodotus  were  not  the  elaborate  structure  we  know,  but  a  much 
simpler  gateway. 


254 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


Last  come  two 
dedications  which 
are  among  the 
most  interesting 
of  all;  one  of 
them  the  statue 
of  Athena,  called 
the  Lemnian,  ac- 
cording to  Pau- 
sanias,  from  those 
that  dedicated  it 
—  perhaps  the 
Athenian  colo- 
nists who  were 
sent  to  occupy  the 
island  about  the 
middle  of  the  fifth 
century ;  in  any 
case  the  mytho- 
logical type  was  probably  one  which  they  found  there, 
and  which  subsequently,  as  Athena  Hephaestia,1  became 
popular  in  Athens.  It  represented  Athena  in  her  more 
human  aspect,  as  goddess  of  the  arts  of  peace.  The 
statue  was  by  Phidias,  and  was  counted  by  many  as  the 
most  beautiful  of  all  his  works ;  the  excellent  critic 
Lucian  concurred  in  tin's  judgment,  and  chose  from  the 
Lemnia,  for  his  ideal  statue,  "the  whole  contour  of  the 


Heading  of   a  Treaty   between   Athens  and 

Samos. 

Hera  and  Athena. 


1  Hephaestia  is  the  name  of  a  town   iii   Lemnos ;    an  adjective  formed  directly 
from  the  name  of  one  divinity  is  never  applied  to  another. 


THE   ACROPOLIS    IN    TH  F    FIFTH    CFNTl'KY 


255 


face,  the  softness  of  the  cheeks,  and  the  fair  proportions 
of  the  nose."  Professor  Furtwangler  believes  he  has 
identified  copies  of  this  statue  at  Dresden,  and  also  in  a 
very  beautiful  head  at  Bologna;  and,  although  his  identi- 
fication has  been  disputed  with  good  reason  by  some 
authorities,  it  has 
met  with  a  con- 
siderable degree  of 
acceptance.1  This 
statue  was  admira- 
bly placed,  for  any 
one  entering  the 
Acropolis  through 
the  Propylaea  would 
see  on  his  right, 
dominating  the 
whole  hill,  the  Par- 
thenon, which  held 
the  gold  and  ivory 
statue  of  Athena 
Parthenos ;  in  front 
of  him,  the  colossal 
bronze  figure  that 
was  conspicuous 
even  from  the  sea; 
and,  nearer  at  hand, 


Portrait  of  Pericles. 
Probably  after  Cresilas. 


1  I  have  stated  my  own  opinion  on  the  matter  elsewhere,  and  I  think  the  objec- 
tions are  very  strongly  put  by  M.  Jamot  in  Monuments  Grecs,  Nos.  21,  22.  How- 
ever, I  cite  the  Bologna  head  here  as  a  concession  to  a  theory  admitted  by  many 
archaeologists. 


256  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

on  his  left,  this  Lemnian  Athena.  He  would  thus  be 
reminded  at  once  of  the  three  aspects  of  Athena 
embodied  in  these  famous  statues  by  Phidias.  And, 
most  appropriately,  there  was  placed  close  beside  the 
Lemnian  goddess  the  portrait  of  Pericles,  to  whom  more 
than  to  any  other  man  was  clue  the  unrivalled  series  of 
buildings  and  of  statues  that  glorified  the  Athenian 
Acropolis.  The  portrait  was  by  Cresilas,  and  was  quoted 
in  antiquity  as  an  example  of  the  wonderful  way  in 
which  art  could  "  add  to  the  nobility  of  noble  men " ; 
it  is  an  example  of  the  idealising  tendency  of  the  fifth 
century.  The  copies  of  it  that  have  survived  show  us 
the  character  of  Pericles  much  as  it  has  been  sketched 
for  us  by  Thucydides ;  but  we  feel  in  both  versions  that 
it  is  not  so  much  accidental  and  individual  features  that 
are  portrayed,  but  rather  the  calm  and  moderation  of 
the  ideal  statesman,  under  whose  leadership  the  democ- 
racy became  practically  the  rule  of  a  single  man.  His 
portrait  was  rightly  the  first  to  be  seen  on  entering,  the 
last  on  leaving,  the  Acropolis ;  but  its  pedestal  instead 
of  an  honorary  inscription  such  as  a  later  age  would 
have  delighted  to  elaborate,  bore  simply  the  words, 
"  Pericles ;    made    by    Cresilas "    (ne/n/cAeofs  •    KprjcriXaq 

€7TO€L  ). 

1  The  genitive  is  unusual,  but  hardly  suffices  to  cast  doubt  on  the  identification 
of  the  herm. 


CHAPTER   VII 

THE  PARTHENON 

The  circumstances  under  which  the  Parthenon  was 
built  have  already  been  stated ;  but  before  we  can 
proceed  to  a  more  detailed  study  of  this  building,  which 
is  in  itself  a  summary  of  all  that  is  best  and  most  charac- 
teristic in  Greek  architecture  and  sculpture,  we  must 
take  a  brief  survey  of  its  subsequent  vicissitudes ;  for 
there  is  none  of  them  that  has  not  left  a  trace  upon 
the  structure  or  upon  its  decoration. 

The  Parthenon,  as  we  have  seen,  must  have  been 
practically  complete  by  the  year  438  b.c.  —  at  least 
complete  enough  to  allow  of  the  dedication  of  the  great 
gold  and  ivory  statue  of  Athena  Parthenos  that  stood 
within  its  cella.  During  the  succeeding  centuries, 
though  in  some  instances  accident  or  pillage  may  have 
affected  its  contents,  the  building  itself  appears  to  have 
remained  unscathed.  Its  most  serious  recorded  danger 
was  from  a  fire  which  occurred  in  the  Opisthodomus 
shortly  after  404  b.c.  ;  the  treasurers  of  Athena  and  of 
the  other  gods  were  imprisoned  on  account  of  this 
fire,  which  probably  destroyed  their  public  accounts ;  but 
it  does  not  appear  to  have  damaged  the  fabric  of  the 
s  257 


258  ANCIENT  ATHENS 

ouildino-  Plutarch  remarks  that  the  Parthenon  in  his 
time  was  in  such  excellent  preservation  that  it  might 
have  been  only  recently  built.  It  is  said  that  in  the 
fifth  century  of  the  Christian  era,  the  statue  of  Athena 
Parthenos  was  removed  from  her  temple.1  It  is  not 
certain  whether  the  Parthenon  was  at  once  changed 
into  a  church,  though  there  is  a  tradition  which  has 
gained  acceptance  rather  from  its  appropriateness  than 
from  the  evidence  on  which  it  rests,  that  the  temple 
was,  when  first  converted  at  this  time  to  Christian  use, 
dedicated  to  the  "  Wisdom  of  God  "  ("Ayta  %o(f>La)  —  a 
fitting  successor  to  the  Goddess  of  Wisdom.  However 
this  may  be,  in  the  sixth  century,  when  the  Greek  re- 
ligion was  officially  abolished  by  Justinian,  the  Parthenon 
was  certainly  transferred  from  the  worship  of  Athena  to 
a  new  cult ;  and  during  the  succeeding  centuries  we  find 
it  dedicated  to  the  Virgin  Mother  of  God  (fH)eoro/co?). 

The  adaptation  of  the  temple  of  Athena  to  Christian 
uses  involved  considerable  structural  alterations.  In 
the  first  place  the  temple,  as  was  usual  in  Greece,  had 
its  principal  entrance  at  the  east  end,  and  the  cella 
containing  the  great  statue  faced  in  this  direction.  The 
church,  on  the  other  hand,  had  to  be  entered  from  the 
west;  the  square  chamber  to  the  west  of  the  cella  formed 
a  convenient  narthex,  and  three  doors  were  cut  through 
the  transverse  wall  to  give  communication  between  it 
and  the  cella.     At  the  east  end  was  the  holy  place  (ayiov 

1  There  is  little  authority  fur  the  statement  that  it  was  carried  off  to  Constan- 
tinople. 


THE    PARTHENON  259 

firjfjLa),  separated  from  the  body  of  the  nave  by  an  eikono- 
stasis  or  screen ;  behind  this,  again,  was  built  an  apse, 
to  hold  the  seats  for  bishops  and  clergy.  This  apse, 
of  which  the  traces  may  still  be  seen  in  the  floor,  was 
fitted  into  the  great  eastern  doorway  of  the  temple ; 
and,  to  make  room  for  it,  not  only  the  jambs  of  the 
door,  but  also  the  nearest  columns  of  the  pronaos  had 
to  be  cut  away.  To  the  same  cause  is  probably  to  be 
attributed  the  removal  of  the  central  slab  of  the  frieze, 
above  the  door ;  but  this  slab  was  preserved,  and  was  still 
to  be  seen  a  thousand  years  later,  behind  the  door  of 
the  church.  Other  portions  of  the  sculpture  were  not 
so  fortunate.  The  original  internal  columns  of  the 
Parthenon,  and  the  roof  which  they  supported,  were 
taken  away  ;  and  there  were  substituted  for  them  a  set 
of  smaller  columns,  supporting  galleries  and  a  vaulted 
roof.  It  was  probably  the  erection  of  this  roof  that 
caused  the  destruction  of  the  central  portions  of  the  east- 
ern pediment.  It  is  improbable  that  this  destruction  was 
intentional,  for  the  central  group  of  the  western  pedi- 
ment, which  was  just  over  the  chief  entrance  of  the 
church,  remained  practically  intact  for  another  thousand 
years;  and  the  figures  of  the  eastern  pediment,  which 
are  irretrievably  lost,  were  at  the  back  of  the  church  in 
a  comparatively  inconspicuous  position.  But  the  back 
wralls  of  both  pediments  were  broken  away  in  the  middle, 
and  brick  structures,  with  niches  or  arches,  were  substi- 
tuted.1     The    roof    over    the    peristyle    appears    not    to 

1  See  illustration,  p.  294. 


26o  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

have  been  renewed ;  and  consequently  the  frieze  at  the 
sides  has  suffered  considerably  from  exposure  to  the 
weather.  There  is  little  more  to  record  about  the  Par- 
thenon until  comparatively  modern  times.  Its  church 
changed  from  the  Greek  to  the  Latin  rite  under  the 
Frank  and  Venetian  Dukes  of  Athens ;  and  then  again 
to  a  mosque  under  the  Turks,  who  captured  the  city 
in  1456;  but  it  remained  practically  unchanged,  except 
for  the  addition  of  a  minaret,  until  the  visit  of  the  trav- 
ellers Spon  and  Wheler  in  1676,  and  of  the  artist 
Carrey,  who  in  1674  was  employed  by  the  Marquis  de 
Nointel,  French  ambassador  in  Constantinople,  to 
make  drawings  of  its  sculpture.  These  drawings  are  now 
of  inestimable  value  to  us,  for  only  thirteen  years  later 
came  the  disaster  that  reduced  the  building  to  its  pres- 
ent state.  A  Venetian  army  under  Morosini  came  in 
1687  to  besiege  the  Acropolis,  and  deserters  gave  infor- 
mation that  the  Turkish  defenders  had  made  the  Par- 
thenon into  a  powder  magazine.  Accordingly  it  became 
the  target  for  the  Venetian  artillery,  and  on  the  26th 
of  September  a  bomb  fell  within  the  cella  and  exploded 
the  powder.  The  north  and  south  sides  of  the  building 
were  blown  out,  walls  and  columns  alike,  leaving  a  ter- 
rible gap  in  the  midst,  but  the  two  ends  still  remained 
standing;  the  west  end,  being  more  distant  from  the 
centre  of  the  explosion,  and  being  also  protected  by  the 
transverse  wall,  was  least  injured.  Thus  the  west  pedi- 
ment again  escaped  accidental  destruction,  but  this  time 
only  to  fall,  with    more   fatal    results,    into   the  hands    of 


THE   PARTHENON  261 

the  admiring  but  unskilful  connoisseur.  Morosini 
wished  to  carry  off  the  chariot  and  horses  of  Athena 
as  a  trophy ;  but  his  attempt  to  lower  them  from  their 
place  only  resulted  in  a  fall  which  shattered  them  to 
pieces. 

From  this  time  on  the  work  of  destruction  was  slow 
but  sure.  The  fanatical  or  wanton  destruction  of  the 
Turks    and    the    indifference    or    powerlessness    of    the 


The  Erectheum  in  Turkish  Times  (Parthenon  on  Left). 
From  Stuart's  Antiquities  of  Athens. 

Greeks  combined  with  the  acquisitive  curiosity  of 
Frank  travellers  to  deface  or  carry  away  such  of  the 
sculptures  as  were  accessible.  But  a  new  era  began 
with  the  visit  of  Stuart  and  Revett  to  Athens  in  1 75 1  ; 
for  their  careful  drawings  of  the  monuments  of  Athens, 
and  especially  of  the  Parthenon,  may  be  said  to  have- 
laid  the  foundation  of  a  systematic  and  scientific  study 
in  addition  to  attracting  the  attention  of  educated  men 
in  the  West  to  the  architecture  and  sculpture  that  Athens 


262  ANCIENT  ATHENS 

still  had  to  show.  A  not  unnatural  consequence  was 
the  notion  of  transferring  bodily  some  portion  of  these 
treasures  to  a  place  where  they  would  meet  with  better 
protection  and  appreciation.  The  Marquis  de  Choiseul- 
Gouffier,  a  worthy  successor  of  de  Nointel  as  French 
ambassador  to  the  Porte,  took  up  this  scheme ;  and  at 
his  direction,  Fauvel,  the  French  consul  at  Athens, 
actually  had  some  pieces  of  sculpture  removed  from 
the  building.  But  it  was  reserved  for  Lord  Elgin  to 
carry  out  the  scheme.  When  he  was  appointed  ambas- 
sador to  the  Porte  in  1 799,  his  attention  was  called 
to  the  imminent  danger  of  destruction  under  which 
the  Athenian  sculptures  lay  ;  and  he  accordingly 
despatched  the  Italian  artist,  Lusieri,  with  a  staff  of 
assistants,  to  draw  and  make  casts.  In  1801  the 
defeat  of  the  French  in  Egypt  left  England  paramount 
in  the  Levant,  and  Lord  Elgin  took  advantage  of  the 
opportunity  to  obtain  a  firman  authorising  him  to  pull 
down  extant  buildings  where  necessary,  and  to  remove 
sculpture  from  them.  The  first  result  of  this  was  the 
demolition  of  the  Turkish  houses  which  we  see  in 
Stuart's  drawing '  surrounding  the  Parthenon,  and  the 
discovery  in  their  foundation  of  many  fragments  of  the 
pediments  and  of  other  sculptures ;  but  the  permission 
was  also  interpreted  to  allow  the  removal  of  sculpture 
from  the  Parthenon  itself,  and,  as  a  consequence,  a  great 
part  of  the  sculpture  which  was  still  left  on  the  build- 
ing came  to  be  carried  off  to  England.     The  abuse  that 

1  Sec  J).  261. 


THE    PARTHENON  263 

was  showered  on  Lord  Elgin  for  this  proceeding  by 
Byron  and  others,  mainly  on  sentimental  grounds,  will 
not  bear  the  test  of  sober  criticism.  The  only  shadow 
of  justification  that  can  be  found  for  it  lies  in  the  fact 
that  Lusieri's  workmen,  though  they  did  no  damage 
to  the  sculpture,  were  not  so  careful  of  the  building 
as  they  might  have  been  ;  in  particular,  they  threw 
down  some  blocks  of  cornice  to  get  out  the  south- 
western metopes.  But  they  left  on  the  building  such 
sculpture  as  appeared  to  be  adequately  protected  from 
the  weather  or  other  damage ;  and  a  comparison  of 
the  casts  they  took  at  the  time  with  the  present  con- 
dition of  the  sculptures  left  behind  shows  that  they 
erred,  if  at  all,  in  taking  away  too  little  and  not  too 
much.  After  many  delays  and  difficulties  the  Elgin 
Marbles  were  brought  to  England,1  and  finally  acquired 
by  the  British  Government  to  be  deposited  in  the  British 
Museum,  in  18 16. 

A  study  of  the  Parthenon  must  take  into  account 
the  Elgin  Marbles  in  the  British  Museum,  and  scat- 
tered fragments  of  its  sculpture  in  the  Louvre,  Copen- 
hagen, and  elsewhere,  as  well  as  the  building  itself  on 
the  Acropolis,  and  such  portions  of  its  decoration  as  are 
preserved    in    the    Acropolis    Museum.     With  the  help 


1  One  of  the  ships  chartered  by  Lord  Elgin  was  wrecked  off  Cerigo,  but  its  whole 
cargo  was  recovered  at  great  expense.  Of  course  the  ship  laden  with  sculpture,  dis- 
covered by  divers  off  Cerigo  in  1901,  has  nothing  to  do  with  this.  It  was  a  Roman 
ship  with  a  cargo  of  miscellaneous  bronze  and  marble  statues.  The  proposed  identi- 
fication, which  unfortunately  gained  some  currency,  could  not  have  been  thought  pos- 
sible by  any  one  acquainted  with  the  facts. 


264  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

of  all  this  evidence,  let  us  endeavour  to  realise  the 
appearance  of  the  Parthenon  as  it  was  when  first  dedi- 
cated in  438  B.C.,  and  as  it  remained  for  nearly  a  thou- 
sand years  after  that  date. 

The  plan  of  the  building  was  peristyle  amphiprostyle ; 
that  is  to  say,  it  had  a  portico  of  six  columns  projecting 
at  front  and  back,  and  in  addition  to  them  a  colonnade 
which  surrounded  the  whole  building,  with  eight  columns 
at  the  front  and  back  and  seventeen  at  the  sides.  Its 
chief  peculiarity  lies  in  the  existence  of  a  large  square 
chamber  behind  the  cella,  entered  from  the  back  of 
the  temple.  This  chamber  was  called  the  Parthenon 
in  the  narrower  sense;  indeed,  the  name  was  not  trans- 
ferred to  the  whole  building  until  later  times.  The 
arrangement  was  probably  an  inheritance  from  the  early 
temple  or  Hecatompedon,1  which  had  a  similar  chamber 
at  its  back ;  in  both  cases  the  chamber  appears  to  have 
served  as  a  treasury.  The  Parthenon,  according  to  its 
earlier  design,  was  to  have  been  considerably  longer, 
and  this  may  have  been  due  to  an  intention  to  include 
in  it  also  two  small  chambers  like  those  in  the  Heca- 
tompedon. By  their  omission  it  was  possible  to  follow 
the  tendency  of  the  age  to  give  temples  a  shorter  and 
wider  plan,  and  this  consideration  was  doubtless  para- 
mount with  the  architect  Ictinus,  who  designed  the 
temple  in  such  a  manner  that  the  length  and  breadth, 
measured  along  the  upper  step,  are  exactly  in  the  ratio 
of  9:4.     The  cella  was  of  ample  proportions,  and  was 

1  See  p.  80,   above. 


**.» 


z    — 

O      <u 


f_,      rt 


THE    PARTHENON  267 

entered  through  a  great  door  at  the  eastern  end;  a 
similar  door  at  the  west  end  led  into  the  Parthenon. 
These  doors  both  show  on  their  jambs  the  sockets  for 
wooden  casings,  perhaps  coated  with  bronze,  which 
here,  as  in  the  Propylaea,  survive  in  marble  walls  as  a 
reminiscence  of  the  time  when  walls  were  built  of 
unbaked  brick,  or  other  inferior  material,  and  required 
such  a  casing  to  protect  them.  There  was  no  com- 
munication between  the  cella  and  the  square  chamber 
behind  it ;  the  plain  wall  that  separated  them  was  not 
pierced  with  the  doors  of  which  the  traces  are  now  to  be 
seen,  until  the  temple  was  changed  into  a  church.  The 
cella  was  surrounded  by  an  internal  colonnade,  at  the 
back  as  well  as  on  both  sides  ;  the  traces  of  the  columns, 
and  even  the  outline  of  their  flutings,  may  still  be  seen 
on  the  pavement,  though  they  are  to  some  extent 
obscured  by  the  traces  of  the  later  and  smaller  columns 
that  carried  the  gallery  and  vaulted  roof  of  the  church. 
They  could  not,  from  their  size,  have  reached  to  the  roof, 
but  must  have  supported  an  entablature,  and  possibly  a 
gallery,  on  which  rested  another  tier  of  smaller  columns. 
Standing  clear  of  this  inner  colonnade,  and  almost  exactly 
in  the  middle  of  the  whole  temple,  was  the  pedestal  of 
the  colossal  gold  and  ivory  statue  of  Athena,  which  stood 
facing  the  great  door.  The  place  of  the  pedestal  is  marked 
by  a  gap  in  the  marble  pavement,  filled  with  blocks  of 
Piraic  limestone ;  the  space  immediately  in  front  of  the 
statue  was  railed  off,  as  at  Olympia,  by  a  balustrade  of 
which  the  line  may  still  be  traced  on  the  pavement. 


268 


ANCIENT  ATHENS 


Interior  of  Parthenon,  looking  East. 
The  dark  patch  in  the  middle  of  the  pavement  is  the  site  of  the  basis  of  the  statue. 

The  question  of  the  lighting  of  Greek  temples  gen- 
erally, and  of  the  Parthenon  in  particular,  has  been  much 
discussed.  The  old  view,  that  there  was  a  square  open- 
ing in  the  roof  of  the  eel  la,  and  that  the  temple  was 
what  is  called  hypaethral,  or  "  open  to  the  sky,"  is  now 
generally  discredited  ;  it  probably  arose,  as  Professor 
Dorpfeld  has  shown,1  from  a  misapplication  of  a  passage 
in  Vitruvius.  It  is  evident  that  in  a  variable  climate 
like  that  of  Athens  so  delicate  a  work  as  a  gold  and 
ivory  statue  could  not  have  been  exposed  to  the  weather, 
and  no  curtain  or  hanging,  such  as  has  been  suggested, 
would  have  sufficed  for  its  protection,  especially  since  it 
is  now  known  that  the  statue  stood  out  in  the  middle 
of  the  cella,  not  in  a  niche  at  the  back  of  it.  Mr.  Fer- 
gusson's  suggestion  of  a  sort  of  clerestory,  admitting 
1  Mitth.  A ih.  XVI.  334. 


THE   PARTHENON  269 

through  the  topmost  row  of  the  internal  columns  the 
light  which  enters  through  openings  in  the  roof  above 
the  side  aisles,  is  free  from  the  objections  that  seem  fatal 
to  the  "hypaethral"  theory,  and  must  be  acknowledged 
to  be  very  ingenious.  But  it  is  not  supported  by  any 
clear  example  of  such  an  arrangement  in  any  known 
building  of  classical  times,  and  it  is  difficult  to  believe 
that  so  convenient  a  device,  if  present  in  so  famous 
a  temple,  would  not  have  left  some  trace  elsewhere. 
Moreover,  such  means  of  lighting  is  perhaps  superfluous 
in  the  case  of  the  Parthenon.  In  the  first  place,  the 
interior  need  not  have  been  very  brilliantly  lighted ;  so 
gorgeous  a  piece  of  work  as  the  gold  and  ivory  statue 
would  probably  look  best  in  a  subdued  light;  and  the 
light  entering  through  the  great  eastern  door  —  or  rather 
through  the  central  intercolumniation  of  the  east  front 
—  would  have  sufficed,  when  reflected  from  the  white 
marble  pavement  and  walls,  to  give  a  very  fair  illumina- 
tion to  the  cella.  In  this  way,  too,  a  very  impressive 
effect  would  be  obtained  on  the  festival  of  the  goddess, 
when,  owing  to  the  special  orientation  of  the  temple,  the 
rays  of  the  rising  sun  would  fall  directly  on  the  statue. 
The  light  that  entered  through  the  door  was  probably 
supplemented  also  by  that  which  penetrated  through  the 
roof.  The  tiles  were  made  of  Parian  rather  than  Pentelic 
marble,  probably  because  of  its  superior  transparency. 
Thin  slabs  of  marble  are  sometimes  used  to  this  day  in 
Byzantine  churches  to  fill  the  windows  instead  of  glass ; 

1  Fergusson  restores  three  tiers  of  internal  columns. 


270  ANCIENT  ATHENS 

and  the  proud  boast  of  Byzes  of  Naxos,  "  that  he  was  the 
first  to  make  tiles  of  marble,"  '  may  well  imply  that  he 
was  the  first  to  solve  the  difficult  problem  of  the  lighting 
of  the  interior  of  temples  ;  so  long  as  they  were  small 
the  door  sufficed,  but  when  they  grew  larger  the  need 
for  some  such  device  may  have  made  itself  felt.  A 
temple  like  the  Parthenon  doubtless  had  an  inner 
ceiling  of  wood,  probably  flat,  within  the  slanting  marble 
roof;  but  it  would  have  been  easy  to  arrange  the  panels 
of  this  ceiling  so  that  the  light  should  penetrate  through 
some  of  them  into  the  rooms  below. 

It  is  to  be  remembered  that  a  visitor  to  the  Acropolis 
would  see  the  Parthenon  first  from  its  north-western 
corner;  he  would  then  have  to  pass  right  along  its 
northern  side  before  reaching  its  front,  and  so  entering 
the  cella  by  the  great  eastern  door.  We  shall  see  later 
how  these  conditions  affected  the  choice  and  the  placing 
of  the  sculptural  decoration,  but  they  doubtless  weighed 
also  with  the  architect  in  fixing  the  proportions  of  the 
temple,  which  are  certainly  most  impressive  as  seen 
from  the  Propyla^a  by  a  spectator  who  faces  the  north- 
western angle  of  the  temple  and  stands  at  some  dis- 
tance below  it. 

The  Parthenon  represented  the  perfection  of  Doric 
architecture;  it  had  neither  the  stiffness  and  formality 
that  are  sometimes  associated  with  the  order  —  mainly 
through  the  influence  of  Roman  or  modern  imitations  — 
nor  the  massive  but  somewhat  clumsy  proportions  of  the 

1    OS    TTfHjOTKTTOS    TCV^€    \I60V    K^pafJLOV. 


THE    PARTHENON  271 

earlier  Doric  buildings  in  Greece.  The  exquisite  com- 
bination of  strength,  simplicity,  and  grace  which  distin- 
guishes it  beyond  all  other  buildings  preserved  to  us' 
from  antiquity,  may  be  appreciated  to  some  extent  even 
at  first  sight  of  the  temple  in  its  present  state,  but  all  the 
refinement  and  subtlety  of  design  and  execution  that 
have  contributed  to  produce  this  result  can  only  be  real- 
ised by  a  minute  study  of  its  forms  and  proportions. 
This  study  was  first  made  by  Mr.  F.  C.  Penrose,  F.R.S., 
and  his  exact  measurements  and  calculations,  published 
in  185 1,  came  as  a  revelation  to  architects.  For  a 
full  and  detailed  account,  his  great  work  on  the  Prin- 
ciplcs  of  Athenian  Architecture  must  be  consulted,  but 
a  summary  will  suffice  to  show  the  nature  of  his 
discoveries. 

In  the  first  place,  there  is  hardly  a  straight  line  of  any 
length  in  the  whole  building.  The  steps  upon  which  it 
rests  have  a  convex  curve ;  though  the  total  rise  does 
not  amount  to  more  than  four  inches  at  the  highest 
point,  in  the  middle  of  each  side,  and  to  three  inches  at 
the  middle  of  the  front  and  back,  it  is  easily  perceptible 
to  the  eye,  if  seen  from  the  corner  of  the  building,  and 
doubtless  produces  an  unconscious  effect  at  a  greater 
distance  or  from  a  different  point  of  view.  The  archi- 
trave above  the  columns  has  a  similar  curve,  though  it  is 
not  now  so  regular,  owing  probably  to  the  accidents  that 
have  shattered  the  building.  The  curve  may  also  be 
recognised  in  the  substructure  on  which  the  Parthenon 
stands,  which  was,  as    we   have    seen,  prepared    for   an 


272 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


earlier  building;  it  is,  indeed,  a  usual  feature  in  any  well- 
constructed  Greek  temple.  The  nicety  with  which  this 
curve  had  to  be  calculated  by  the  architect,  and  the 
allowances  that  had  to  be  made  for  it,  may  best  be  real- 
ised by  an  examination  of  the  corner  columns.  These 
were  standing  upon  a  bed  that  sloped  both  ways,  and  the 
necessary  corrections  are  effected  in  their  lowest  drums, 


North  Side  of  Parthenon,  showing  Curve  of  Steps. 

of  which  tlje  upper  surfaces  are  nearly  horizontal.  As 
a  result,  these  drums,  instead  of  having  their  upper  and 
lower  surfaces  parallel,  are  nearly  two  inches  thicker  on 
the  outer  side  than  on  the  inner;  and  there  is  a  similar 
variation  in  thickness  in  the  lowest  drums  of  the  other 
columns;  the  difference  diminishes  as  we  approach  the 
middle  of  the  front,  back,  or  sides  of  the  temple.     This 


THE    I'ARTIIKNON 


!73 


correction  is  mainly  due  to  the  curve  of  the  steps  —  or, 
to  speak  more  exactly,  of  the  top  step  or  stylobate ;  but 

a  small  fraction  of  it  is  due  to  another  cause.  The  axes 
of  the  columns  themselves  are  not  exactly  vertical,  but 
incline  slightly  inward,  nearly  three  inches  in  their  total 
height  of  over  thirty-four  feet.  In  this  inclination,  as 
well  as  in  the  curve  of  the  stylobate,  we  may  probably 
see  examples  of  the  application  of  two  different  principles. 
The  first  of  these  is  optical  correction  ;  the  second  is  the 
preference  of  a  curve  to  a  straight  line.  It  is  a  matter 
of  observation,  which  any  one  can  test  for  himself,  that 
a  lono-  horizontal  straight  line,  with  a  number  of  vertical 
lines  resting  upon  it,  appears  to  the  eye  to  sink  slightly 
in  the  middle,  and  to  rise  toward  the  ends ;  still  more  is 
this  the  case  with  a  horizontal  line  surmounted  by  a  very 
shallow  triangle,  such  as  the  gable  of  a  Greek  temple. 
And,  moreover,  the  inward  slope  of  the  columns,  and  the 
slightly  pyramidal  shape  which  it  gives  to  the  whole 
temple,  gives  an  appearance  of  stability  which  would  be 
absent  if  all  the  columns  were  perfectly  vertical.  At  the 
same  time,  though  these  optical  corrections  may  supply 
the  immediate  cause  for  the  curves  which  we  may  see  in 
the  main  lines  of  the  Parthenon,  the  architect  was  also 
aware  of  the  fact  that  a  curve  is  more  pleasing  to  the 
eye  than  a  straight  line,  and  Mr.  Penrose's  accurate  cal- 
culations have  proved  that  the  curves  actually  used  are 
all  of  the  most  regular  character,  most  of  them  being 
either  hyperbolic  or  parabolic.  It  does  not,  however, 
necessarily  follow  that  they  were  all  laid  out  by  mathe- 

T 


274  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

matical  calculation,  although  of  course  such  adjustments 
as  we  have  noticed  in  the  bottom  drums  of  the  columns 
must  have  been  calculated  to  a  nicety.  The  mathemati- 
cal corrections  of  the  curves  may  in  some  cases  be  due 
to  an  instinct  for  perfection  of  form  and  to  training  of 
eye  and  hand  rather  than  to  any  conscious  application 
of  mathematical  knowledge.  The  columns  themselves 
show  the  same  qualities  in  design  and  execution  that  char- 
acterise the  whole  temple.  The  entasis,  or  gentle  swell- 
ing of  the  shaft,  is  in  a  single  harmonious  curve  from 
capital  to  base ;  and  the  outline  of  the  echinus,  which  in 
earlier  Doric  columns  is  in  the  form  of  a  rounded  bowl, 
here  approaches  so  nearly  to  a  straight  line  that  at  first 
sight  its  curve  may  easily  be  overlooked ;  but  it  is  there, 
and  its  presence  gives  the  appearance  of  elasticity  which 
we  miss  in  later  examples  of  the  order.  Now  that  many 
of  the  columns  are  fallen,  it  is  possible  to  see  the  means 
by  which  the  extraordinary  perfection  of  their  workman- 
ship was  attained.  The  drums  were  roughly  shaped  at 
the  quarry,  but  made  a  little  larger  than  they  were  in- 
tended to  be;  and  projecting  blocks  were  left  on  them 
for  the  application  of  levers  and  ropes.  Their  external 
surfaces  remained  in  this  state  until  after  they  were 
erected,  but  the  joint  surface's  were  elaborately  prepared. 
The  principle  involved  in  this  preparation  is  the  same 
that  we  find  applied  also  to  the  squared  blocks  of 
a  wall,  and  to  which  Greek  masonry  of  the  best  period 
owes  the  fineness  of  its  joints.  To  say  that  a  knife- 
blade   could    not    be    inserted    between    the    blocks   is   a 


THK    PARTHENON 


275 


very  rough  and  inadequate  way  of  expressing  the  fact ; 
the  joint  shows  often  so  fine  a  line  as  scarcely  to  be  per- 
ceptible to  the  eye.  It  would  have  been  practically  im- 
possible to  make  the  two  surfaces  fit  so  exactly  as  this 
all    over,  and    therefore  the   joint   surface   in   every  case 


Unfinished  Drums  of  Columns. 

The  upper  one  shows  the  flutes  begun  at  the  bottom.     The  one  on  the  left 
shows  rough  surface  and  projections  for  use  of  levers. 

is  made  only  a  few  inches  broad,  all  round  the  edges 
of  the  drum  or  block;  and  the  rest  of  the  surface  is 
slightly  sunk. 

On  the  surfaces  of  the  fallen  drums  we  can  see 
several  different  varieties  of  work.  First  of  all,  for  a 
few  inches  all  round  the  edge,  there  is  a  perfectly 
smooth  surface,  which  formed  the  actual  joint.  Within 
this,  the  greater  part  of  the  drum  is  covered  with  fine 
marks  of  a  tooth  chisel,  which  remain  quite  fresh  ;  and 
near  the  middle  there  is  a  shallow  circular  depression, 


276  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

showing  rough  punch  marks.  The  centre  of  this  is 
occupied  by  a  square  hole ;  and  the  joint  has  actually 
proved  so  perfectly  air  tight  that  in  some  cases  the 
wooden  plug  that  fitted  into  this  hole  has  been  preserved; 
some  examples  can  be  seen  in  the  Acropolis  Museum 
at  Athens.  This  wooden  plug  was  cut  off  flush  with 
the  surface  of  the  drum,  and  in  its  middle  was  a 
round  hole,  into  which  a  cylindrical  peg  was  inserted, 
projecting  so  as  to  fit  also  the  corresponding  hole  in 
the  adjoining  drum.  This  peg  was  not  of  course 
adequate,  either  in  size  or  material,  to  resist  any  great 
strain,  and  so  it  cannot  have  been  intended  as  a  tenon 
to  hold  the  drums  in  place ;  their  weight  alone,  on  a 
horizontal  surface,  would  suffice  for  this,  and  nothing 
but  the  terrible  shock  of  an  explosion  or  of  an  earth- 
quake could  have  displaced  them  as  they  are  now 
displaced.  The  peg  must  therefore  have  served  the 
purpose  of  exact  adjustment  when  they  were  set  in 
position  ;  perhaps  at  the  same  time  they  were  turned 
round  and  ground  against  one  another,  to  remove  any 
slight  unevenness  in  the  joint  surface;  but  it  is  difficult 
to  see  how  this  could  have  been  done  without  throwing 
on  the  wooden  peg  a  heavier  strain  than  it  could  bear. 
The  deeper  depression  with  a  roughly  dressed  surface 
would  serve  to  receive  any  superfluous  marble  dust 
that  was  rubbed  off  in  the  process  of  finally  adjusting 
the  drums.  The  to])  block  of  each  column  included 
the  top  of  the  shaft  as  well  as  the  echinus  and  the 
square    abacus.      From   the   point   of   view  of    historical 


TIN';    PARTHENON 


277 


evolution,  it  may  perhaps  seem  a  solecism  to  make 
these  three  members  out  of  a  single  block;  they  must 
of  course  represent  different  portions  of  the  original 
wooden  structure.  But  the  practice  is  common  in 
Doric  temples,  and  is  doubtless  due  to  the  difficulty 
of  exact  adjustment  and  the  risk  of  shifting  if  they 
were  made  of  separate  pieces.  The  top  of  the  flutings 
was  worked  on 
this  block  be- 
fore it  was  set 
up ;  and  their 
lower  ends 
were  worked 
on  the  lower 
portion  of  the 
bottom  drum 
also  before  it 
was  placed  in 
position.    The 

rest  of  the  drums  were  left  rough  on  the  outside  until 
after  the  column  was  erected ;  and  in  many  unfinished 
temples  one  may  still  see  the  tops  and  bottoms  of 
the  flutings  alone  indicated  —  for  example,  at  Segesta 
in  Sicily  and  at  Rhamnus  and  Eleusis  in  Attica.  On 
the  Acropolis  itself,  in  front  of  the  modern  museum 
may  be  seen  some  bottom  drums,  prepared  but  never 
used,  with  the  flutings  worked  on  their  lower  portion 
only.  After  the  columns  were  erected  it  was  easy  to 
stretch  a  line  from  the  top  to  the  bottom  of  each  flute, 


Joint  of  Fallen  Drum,  showing  Various  Working 
ok  Surface. 


27S  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

and  so  to  carry  them  with  perfect  precision  through  the 
joints.  By  this  method  also  there  was  no  risk  of  chip- 
ping the  fine  edges  of  the  marble  by  setting  one  drum 
on  another  after  the  final  surface  was  completed.  The 
only  exception  was  in  the  case  of  the  top  joint,  since 
the  fluting  above  it  was  previously  completed ;  here 
we  find  the  edge  of  the  flutings  bevelled  away,  and 
the  real  joint  only  beginning  a  little  distance  from 
the  edge.  The  result  is  a  distinct  dark  line  round  the 
finished  column,  which  may  always  be  seen,  even  when 
the  other  joints  are  so  perfect  as  to  escape  observation. 
This  technique  implies  that  it  is  impossible  to  place 
the  drums  of  a  column  in  position  after  they  have 
been  fluted,  or  to  replace  them  when  once  they  have 
fallen.  The  unfortunate  attempt  that  has  been  made 
to  rebuild  some  of  the  fallen  columns  of  the  Parthenon 
offers  a  warning  against  any  further  proceeding  of  the 
same  sort.  They  have  none  of  the  life  and  elasticity 
that  distinguish  the  unfallen  columns;  and  this  is  mainly 
due  to  the  fact  that  their  joints  are  no  longer  perfect, 
nor  their  flutings  continuous. 

This  description  of  the  columns  and  of  the  manner 
in  which  they  were  made  will  suffice  to  exemplify  the 
precision  of  design  and  mechanical  skill  in  execution 
that  characterise  the  Parthenon  throughout;  nothing, 
however,  but  a  careful  study  of  the  forms  will  suffice 
to  show  the  extraordinary  degree  of  perfection  in  work- 
ing marble  that  they  imply.  It  is  impossible  to  detect 
any  deviation    from   the   mathematical  exactness  of   the 


THE    PARTHENON  279 

curved  surfaces,  yet  this  result  was  probably  achieved 
entirely  by  hand,  with  the  aid  of  the  simplest  mechanical 
contrivances,  such  as  templets,  measures,  or  lines.  To 
the  student  of  Gothic  architecture  such  uniformity  may 
seem  likely  to  produce  a  monotonous  or  lifeless  result  ; 
but  no  one  who  has  seen  the  Parthenon  can  feel  this 
to  be  the  case.  The  same  loving  care  in  detail  that 
elsewhere  produces  infinite  variety  is  here  subordinated 
to  the  systematic  perfection  of  the  whole ;  but  its 
presence  is  none  the  less  perceptible  in  the  subtle  and 
appropriate  curve  of  every  outline  and  moulding.  The 
design  of  these  must  of  course  be  attributed  to  the 
architect  Ictinus ;  but  his  ideas  could  never  have  been 
carried  out  without  the  help  of  a  body  of  masons  whose 
technical  ability  and  scrupulous  exactness  were  worthy 
of  such  a  master. 

The  architrave  above  the  outer  columns  was  made  in 
three  pieces  set  side  by  side,  because  of  its  great  size ; 
but  the  effect,  except  when  seen  from  directly  below, 
was  the  same  as  if  there  had  been  a  single  block 
stretching  from  column  to  column.  Above  the  archi- 
trave, on  the  outside,  there  were  set  the  blocks  of  the 
triglyphs,  each  with  a  groove  on  either  side,  into  which 
the  comparatively  thin  slabs  of  the  metopes,  with  their 
carving  in  high  relief,  were  dropped  from  above  ;  over 
the  inner  block  of  the  architrave  was  a  row  of  plain 
slabs,  decorated  at  the  top  with  a  curved  moulding  or 
cymatium  which  has  in  many  places  preserved  the 
traces  of  a  painted  pattern  ;   on  these  inner  slabs  rested 


iSo 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


the  beams  that  carried  the  marble  casket  roof  of  the 
peristyle.  Between  the  inner  slabs  and  the  triglyphs 
there  was  a  narrow  open  space,  broader  at  the  metopes. 
The  whole  was  covered  by  the  thinner  horizontal  slabs 


Section  of  Part  of  Parthenon,  restored. 

which  projected  externally  to  form  the  cornice.  The 
roof  was  borne  by  wooden  beams  and  rafters,  on  which 
rested  the  Parian  marble  slabs  or  tiles  which  we  have 
already  noticed  as  intended,  by  their  transparency,  to 
assist  in  the  lighting  of  the  interior.  The  six  inner 
columns  at  front  and  back  were  somewhat  smaller  than 


THE    PARTHENON  281 

those  of  the  peristyle,  and  stood  on  a  pavement  two  steps 
higher;  the  entablature  that  rested  upon  them  was  simi- 
lar in  construction  to  that  over  the  external  columns, 
except  that  in  the  place  of  the  metopes  and  triglyphs 
were  set  the  slabs  of  the  continuous  frieze  in  low  relief, 
which  also  is  continued  at  the  same  height  all  round 
the  temple,  crowning  the  side  walls  of  the  cella.  Above 
the  cornice  at  each  end  of  the  temple  the  gable  rose  in 
a  solid  wall,  faced  with  thinner  marble  slabs,  to  form  a 
background  to.  the  pedimental  sculptures;  and  above 
the  triangular  space  was  a  second  cornice,  completing 
the  massive  frame  in  which  these  sculptures  were  set. 
The  sculpture  of  the  Parthenon 1  was,  as  we  have 
seen,  applied  to  the  decoration  of  three  portions  of  the 
building,  —  the  metopes  between  the  triglyphs  of  the 
outer  Doric  frieze,  the  triangular  fields  of  the  two  gables 
or  pediments,  and  the  continuous  frieze  within  the  peri- 
style, above  the  inner  columns  and  the  walls  of  the  cella. 
Each  of  these  series  of  sculptures  was  made  to  suit 
different  conditions  of  architectural  surroundings,  and 
also,  to  some  extent,  under  different  artistic  influences. 
Chronologically,  the  three  must  be  placed  in  the  order 
named,  as  is  shown  by  their  style ;  on  technical  archi- 
tectural grounds  we  might  come  to  the  same  conclusion, 
since  the  metopes  had  to  be  slipped  into  the  grooves  of 
the  triglyph  blocks  before  the  cornice  was  laid  above 
them,  and   consequently   before   the   pedimental   figures 

1  For  the   Parthenon  sculpture  generally,  see  Waldstein,  Essays  on  the  Art  of 
Pheidias. 


282  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

could  be  set  in  position ;  and  the  frieze  on  the  wall  of 
the  cella  would  not  probably  be  added  until  after  the 
completion  of  the  peristyle  and  all  that  belonged  to  it. 
But  these  architectural  arguments  are  inconclusive ;  for 
it  is  always  a  matter  of  doubt  how  far  the  sculpture  was 
completed  in  the  studio,  and  whether  the  work,  or  a 
good  deal  of  it,  may  not  have  been  done  after  the  blocks 
were  in  situ. 

The  metopes  are  in  high  relief,  to  suit  the  massive 
architectural  frame  in  which  they  are  set.  The 
Parthenon  is  the  only  extant  temple  in  which  all  the 
metopes  are  sculptured,  and  their  great  number — ninety- 
two  in  all  —  offered  great  scope  for  variety  in  subject  and 
treatment.  With  the  exception  of  those  from  the  south 
side  of  the  temple,  the  metopes  have  suffered  much 
from  exposure  to  the  weather  and  from  other  vicissi- 
tudes, and  it  is  by  no  means  easy  in  many  cases  even 
to  make  out  their  subject.  It  seems,  however,  that  the 
metopes  on  the  western  front  represented  the  battle 
of  the  Greeks  and  the  Amazons,  and  those  on  the 
eastern  front  the  battles  of  the  Gods  and  the  Giants. 
The  division  of  subjects  between  the  north  and 
south  sides  was  not  so  simple.  At  either  end  of  the 
south  side  were  twelve  metopes  with  scenes  from  the 
combat  of  the  Lapiths  and  the  Centaurs;  but  the  eight 
metopes  in  the  middle  had  different  subjects,  several 
of  them  showing  female  figures  in  various  attitudes. 
Similarly  on  the  north  side  toward  either  end  the  metopes 
that  are  left  or  of  which  drawings  are  preserved  have  vari- 


THE   PARTHENON  283 

ous  scenes,  most  of  them  including-  female  figures,  and 
have  been  conjectured  with  some  probability  to  refer  to 
the  sack  of  Troy;  but  the  metopes  in  the  middle  appear  ' 
to  have  contained  further  scenes  from  the  centauromachy. 
By  their  choice  of  all  these  subjects  there  is  little  doubt 
that  the  Athenians  intended  to  depict,  to  the  glory  of 
their  goddess,  the  mythical  prototypes  of  their  own 
victories  over  the  Persians,  which  were  still  fresh  in 
their  memory;  and  such  a  theme  was  appropriate  to  the 
Parthenon,  built  as  it  was  from  the  funds  subscribed 
by  the  Greeks  against  the  common  foe,  but  no  longer 
necessary  since  the  maritime  empire  of  Athens  guaran- 
teed the  protection  these  funds  were  intended  to 
provide.  In  the  distribution  of  the  subjects  on  the 
different  sides  of  the  temple  there  is  evidence  of  a 
distinct  artistic  intention,  which  is  in  all  probability  to 
be  attributed  to  the  architect  rather  than  to  the  sculptor 
or  sculptors  employed.  The  vigorous,  often  violent 
scenes  of  the  centauromachy  show  the  greatest  origi- 
nality of  composition  ;  and  by  their  splendid  combination 
and  contrast  of  the  human  and  equine  forms,  by  the 
striking  pose  and  strong  relief  of  their  various  groups, 
they  arrest  the  attention  of  the  beholder,  whether  far 
or  near.  For  this  reason  they  are  not  placed  on  the 
fronts  below  the  pediments,  where  they  would  have 
diverted    the    eye    from    the    more    important    groups 

1  The  evidence  for  this  is  rather  doubtful  ;  the  metopes  themselves  have  entirely 
disappeared  ;  but  centaurs  are  shown  on  drawings  by  D'Otieres'  artist,  which  are 
generally  supposed  to  belong  to  the  north  side. 


2S4  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

above  them,  nor  even  near  the  ends  of  the  north  side ; 
for,  as  we  have  seen,  a  visitor  first  saw  the  Parthenon 
from  the  north-west,  and  then  passed  along  to  the 
north-east  corner,  and  consequently  his  view  of  either 
front  would  usually  include  the  nearer  part  of  the  north 
side.  We  find  accordingly  that  the  scenes  on  the 
metopes  at  either  end  of  the  north  side  are  quieter 
and  less  striking:;  only  in  the  middle  of  this  side,  in 
all  probability,  were  some  centaur  metopes  to  give  it 
variety.  With  the  south  side  it  is  different.  This  is 
the  side  of  the  Parthenon  that  is  most  conspicuous 
from  below;  it  is,  indeed,  the  only  aspect  of  the  building 
that  can  be  clearly  seen  without  mounting  the  Acropolis, 
since  there  is  only  a  comparatively  narrow  space  between 
the  temple  and  the  south  wall  of  the  Acropolis.  This 
space,  moreover,  can  only  be  approached  after  passing 
the  east  or  west  front,  and,  if  we  may  judge  from  the 
case  of  Pausanias,  was  not  necessarily  included  in  a 
walk  round  the  Acropolis.  It  follows  that  the  south 
side  of  the  Parthenon  was  intended  chiefly  to  be  seen  by 
itself  as  a  whole,  and  to  be  seen  from  a  distance;  and 
these  two  facts  had  a  paramount  influence  on  the  distri- 
bution of  the  metopes.  Scenes  from  the  centauromachy 
were  placed  on  the  south  side,  twelve  at  each  end, 
separated  by  a  set  of  quieter  and  more  miscellaneous 
subjects  in  the  middle.  In  this  way  the  bold  and  vigor- 
ous design  and  execution  of  the  centaur  metopes  gained 
I  heir  full  effect  in  contrast  with  the  massive  architec- 
tural   frame   in    which    they    were  set;  and   this    contrast 


THE    PARTHENON 


285 


South-west  Corner  of  Parthenon,  showing  Metope  S.  I.,  in  situ. 
Centaur  and  Lapith. 

would  be  strongest  at  the  ends,  where  the  structural 
features  of  the  building  are  most  conspicuous,  but  at 
the  same  time  they  would  not  obtrude  themselves  on 
the  notice  of  the  spectator,  to  the  detriment  of  the 
general  harmony  and  balance  of  the  sculptural  decora- 
tion of  the  temple. 

These  centaur  groups  from  the  south  side  are  the 
only  metopes  that  have  escaped,  partially  or  entirely, 
from  the  effects  of  weather  and  of  the  various  vicissi- 
tudes of  the  Parthenon.  It  is  therefore  fortunate  that, 
so  far  as  we  can  judge  from  the  scanty  traces  of  sculp- 
ture on  the  rest  of  the  metopes,  they  were  also  the  finest 
originally  both  in  composition  and  execution  ;  but  they 
also  vary  greatly  among    themselves   in   both    qualities. 


286 


ANCIENT  ATHENS 


There  are  in  the  first  place  certain  metopes  which, 
though  full  of  vigour,  show  no  trace  of  exaggeration 
or  display.  For  balance  and  restraint  in  composition, 
and  for  mastery  in  execution,  they  can  find  a  parallel 
only    in    the    pediments    of    the    Parthenon ;    and    their 


Bj  i"  r  1 1 1 1  -  -  i . .  ■  >  of  Messrs.  A.  W.  Mansell  &  Sons. 

\li  rOEE   s.  XXVIII. 

( '.  nt. mi  and  Lapilh. 

style,  both  in  the  treatment  of  the  nude  and  of  drapery, 
also  resembles  that  of  the  pediments.  Among  these 
metopes  perhaps  the  most  conspicuous  is  the  spirited 
figure  of  a  centaur  exulting  in  triumph  over  a  prostrate 
foe.      Here  every  line  and  every  detail  of  the  modelling 


THE   PARTHENON 


287 


is  full  of  expression,  yet  there  is  a  certain  restraint  and 
rhythm  about  the  composition  which  adapts  it  to  the 
space  within  which  it  is  confined,  and  prevents  any 
feeling  of  inconsistency  between  the  violent  motion  of 
the  centaur  and  the  rigid  architectural  frame  of  the 
metope.     There  is,  moreover,  a   fine    contrast    between 


Bj  permission  of  Messrs.  A.  W.  Mansell&  Sons. 

Metope  S.  XXVI I. 
Centaur  and  Lapith. 


the  exuberant  life  of  the  centaur  and  the  lifeless  body 
of  the  Lapith,  relaxed,  yet  full  of  grace  even  in  death. 
This  group  is  also  remarkable  for  the  way  in  which  it 
exactly  fills  the  available  space,  —  a  quality  which  it 
shares  with  the  metopes  that  rival  it  in  other  artistic 
merits.     In  another  of  these  finest  metopes  we  see  the 


288  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

balance  of  combat  used  with  the  highest  artistic  skill, 
so  as  to  adapt  the  group  to  its  architectural  setting. 
Here  the  Lapith  has  seized  the  centaur  by  the  hair, 
and  throws  the  whole  weight  of  his  body  backward 
across  the  metope,  to  check  the  onward  rush  of  his 
adversary,  and  the  crossing,  both  of  lines  and  of  impe- 
tus, that  is  thus  produced,  makes  the  group  both  com- 
plete in  itself  and  admirably  suited  to  its  square  frame. 
Here  we  can  see  also  perhaps  the  earliest  example  of  a 
decorative  use  of  drapery  that  was  to  have  very  exten- 
sive influence  at  a  somewhat  later  date.  The  chlamys 
of  the  Lapith  has  only  its  extreme  corners  thrown  over 
his  right  shoulder  and  his  left  arm,  so  that  the  rest  of 
it  hangs,  in  richly  curving  folds,  to  form  a  background 
to  his  body.  The  effect  of  contrast  is  admirable ;  but 
it  must  be  admitted  that  the  chlamys  is  placed  in  a 
position  where  it  could  hardly  remain  for  a  moment, 
even  if  the  figure  were  at  rest,  —  much  less  in  the  midst 
of  a  combat.  The  drapery  is  used,  in  fact,  not  to  express 
more  fully  and  vividly  the  sculptor's  conception  of  the 
scene  he  represents,  but  with  the  direct  intention  of 
gaining  a  certain  artistic  effect,  —  a  dangerous  tendency 
of  which  we  may  see  the  consequences  elsewhere. 
There  are  other  metopes,  hardly  if  at  all  inferior  to 
these,  with  great  variety  in  the  treatment  of  the  scenes 
of  combat.  In  one  of  them  centaur  and  Lapith  advance 
from  opposite  sides;  the  Lapith  seizes  by  the  throat  the 
centaur,  who  rears  up  to  meet  him ;  in  another,  the 
Lapith   has  forced   the   centaur  down  on  his  knees  by 


THE    PARTHENON 


289 


pressing-  his   knee    against  his  back,  while  he  throttles 
him  with  his  left  arm   and  hand. 

Many  of  the  metopes  are  less  advanced  in  their  tech- 
nique, and  vary  a  good  deal  in  quality.  Some  of  them, 
though  full  of  vigour  and  originality,  show  a  certain 
hardness  of  modelling,  and  an  exaggeration  of  athletic 
pose  in  the  composition,  which  are  characteristic  of  the 
transition  from  ar- 
chaic stiffness  to 
complete  freedom. 
It  was  natural  that 
at  such  a  time  the 
new  knowledge  of 
anatomy  should 
lead  to  undue  dis- 
play of  the  muscu- 
lar structure  of  the 
human  form,  and 
that,  when  the 
conventional  types 
of  early  art  were 
for  the  first  time  discarded,  the  artist  should  not  always 
make  the  most  discreet  use  of  a  practically  unlimited 
choice  of  motives.  Sometimes,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
finest  of  the  Parthenon  metopes,  the  instinct  for  sculp- 
tural appropriateness  supplied  the  guidance  and  the 
restraint  that  are  usually  due  to  convention*  or  artistic 
tradition  ;  but  in  some  other  metopes,  as  in  those  of 
the  Theseum,  positions  of  unstable  equilibrium  are   by 


*vfS 

>■■■;■ 

'!*jjj^ 

vfl 

■Jr  i/jr  jLm.        w 

"Smjit 

1W-          1 

*** 

By  permission  of  Messrs.  A.  W.  Mansell  &  Soii6. 

Metope  S.  VII. 
Centaur  and  Lapith. 


290 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


no    means   avoided,    and   even    tricks  of    the    wrestliner 

o 

school  are  imported  into  heroic  contests  in  such  a  way 
as  to  impair  their  dignity  even  while  increasing  their 
realism.  Sometimes  the  result  is  even  more  unsatisfac- 
tory, and  the  com- 
position, in  its 
aim  at  originality, 
becomes  either 
weak  and  uncon- 
vincing, or  even 
ungainly  and  dis- 
pleasing in  effect. 
Examples  of  what 
we  may  call  ath- 
letic exaggeration 
occur  in  metopes 
8  and  9  of  the 
south  side  ;  while 
the  weaker  and  more  unsatisfactory  work  may  be  seen 
in  metopes  30  and  31.  In  metope  31  particularly, 
the  raised  right  leg  and  bent  left  arm  of  the  Lapith 
suggest  that  he  is  not  exerting  the  force,  so  much  in- 
sisted on  in  the  hard  and  dry  muscles  of  his  torso,  to 
any  good  purpose;  and  the  position  of  the  centaur  is 
hardly  stronger,  though  we  see  the  same  exaggeration  in 
liis  torso  and  in  the  expression  of  his  face.  The  metopes 
containing  female  figures  are  also,  for  the  most  part, 
of  the  most  inefficient  class  —  a  fact  that  in  itself  is 
significant  as  to  the  school    to   which   the   metopes   are 


Bj  permission  of  Messrs.  A.  W   Mansell  &  Som 

Metope  S.  XXX. 

Centaur  and  Lapith. 


THE    PARTHENON 


291 


due  —  although,  curiously  enough,  the  drapery  in  one 
of  them  (29)  is  executed  with  a  skill  that  contrasts  with 
the  awkward  pose  of  the  figure  and  resembles  the  tech- 
nique of  the  pediments. 

It  is  evident,  from  what  has  been  said,  that  the  me- 
topes do  not  show  either  the  unity  or  the  uniformity 
which  we  should  expect  if  they  were,  even  in  design,  the 
work  of  a  single  man.  The  differences  between  them 
are  more  marked,  and  affect  the  whole  composition  of 
the  groups  in  a  greater  degree  than  would  have  been 
possible  if  a  com- 
mon design  had 
been  executed  by 
various  hands. 
After  a  mere  dis- 
tribution of  the 
subjects  on  the 
building,  which,  as 
we  have  seen,  is 
mainly  governed 
by  architectural 
principles,  the 
artists  who  under- 
took the  individ- 
ual metopes  seem 
to  have  been  given  a  free  hand.  These  artists  seem, 
for  the  most  part,  to  have  belonged  to  a  school  which 
gave  most  of  its  attention  to  athletic  subjects ;  all  of 
them  delight  in  rendering  the  details  of  the  male  torso 


By  permission  of  Messrs.  A.  W.  Mansell  &  Sons. 

Metope  S.  XXXI. 
Centaur  and  Lapith. 


292  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

and  limbs,  some  with  the  exaggeration  of  leanness  of 
anatomy,  some  with  the  moderation  that  comes  of  mas- 
tery; none  of  them  treats  the  female  figure  with  any 
success,  and,  with  two  or  three  notable  exceptions,  the 
drapery  leaves  much  to  be  desired.  It  would  be  tempt- 
ing to  go  further,  and  to  assign  the  metopes,  in  classes, 
to  the  hands  of  different  individual  sculptors,  on  the 
lines  of  division  already  indicated.  But  any  such 
attempt  must  involve  a  great  deal  of  conjecture,  espe- 
cially now  that  the  majority  of  the  metopes  of  the  Par- 
thenon are  either  lost  or  so  much  defaced  that  it  is 
impossible  to  judge  of  their  style.  It  is  more  instructive 
to  notice  that  in  the  athletic  tendencies  of  the  sculptors 
who  made  the  metopes,  their  vigour  and  originality  of 
composition,  their  choice  of  subjects,  and  even  in  what 
they  avoid  or  treat  in  a  perfunctory  manner,  we  can  trace 
a  clear  analogy  to  what  we  know  of  Myron,  the  greatest 
of  Attic  sculptors  of  this  athletic  class.  Not  that  we 
should  therefore  assume  any  direct  connection  between 
Myron  and  the  Parthenon  metopes;  but  his  influence 
must  have  been  great  among  his  contemporaries  and 
successors ;  and  in  the  metopes  of  the  Parthenon  and  the 
Theseum  we  may  recognise  the  traces  of  this  influence, 
though  the  sculptures  themselves,  both  in  design  and 
execution,  show  a  freshness  and  originality  which  pre- 
clude the  possibility  of  any  common  controlling  and 
directing  power.  In  this  respect  they  offer  a  contrast  to 
the  rest  of  the  sculptures  of  the  Parthenon,  the  pediments 
and  the  frieze. 


THE   PARTHENON  293 

If  the  pediments  of  the  Parthenon  were  known  to  us 
only  from  what  is  left  of  them  either  in  the  British 
Museum  or  on  the  building  itself,  we  should  have  little 
notion  of  their  subject  or  composition,  though  we  could 
still  appreciate  the  supreme  excellence  of  their  execu- 
tion and  the  beauty  of  the  individual  figures.  Fortu- 
nately, however,  the  extant  sculptures  are  supplemented 
by  other  evidence  which  enables  us  to  obtain  at  least  a 
general  notion  of  their  appearance  when  complete, 
though  many  details  must  always  remain  unknown. 
We  have,  in  the  first  place,  Carrey's  drawings,  which 
show  us  the  west  pediment  almost  complete,  though  he 
saw  even  less  than  we  can  still  see  of  the  east  pedi- 
ment. His  drawings  are  supplemented  by  some  others, 
which  serve  to  confirm  or  correct  them  in  details.  The 
information  given  us  by  Pausanias  is  very  meagre ; 
instead  of  mentioning,  as  he  does  at  Olympia,  the  indi- 
vidual figures,  and  so  giving  us  a  clue  even  where  he 
himself  made  mistakes  in  their  identification,  he  con- 
tents himself  with  saying  that,  "in  the  case  of  the  Par- 
thenon, all  the  group  in  the  front  pediment  refers  to  the 
birth  of  Athena,  and  that  at  the  back  contains  the  con- 
test of  Posidon  against  Athena  for  the  land."  These 
subjects,  however,  are  represented  on  some  vases  or 
reliefs  that  have  survived  from  ancient  times;1  some  of 
these  are    directly   derived    from   the  pediments   of   the 


1  One  set  of  miniature  copies  of  figures  from  the  Farthenon  pediments  found 
at  Eleusis  might  have  proved  most  valuable  ;  but  unfortunately  they  give  us  little 
information  which  we  cannot  obtain  elsewhere.     See'E0.  'Apx-  1890.  12,  13. 


294 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


1 


Parthenon,  and   others,  especially  those   of   earlier  date, 
show   the   way  in   which    the    theme    usually  presented 

itself  to  the  Greek  artist.  An- 
other source  of  evidence  that 
has  only  recently,  owing  to  the 
careful  study  of  Professor  Sauer, 
come  to  be  appreciated  at  its 
full  value  is  to  be  found  in  the 
extant  floor  and  background 
of  the  pediments  themselves. 
Here  may  still  be  seen  clear 
traces  of  the  pedimental  figures, 
—  sockets  prepared  to  receive 
their  bases  or  the  attributes 
that  belonged  to  them,  places 
where  the  ground  has  been  pro- 
tected from  the  weather  by  a 
superimposed  figure,  discolor- 
ation from  metal  or  other  ad- 
juncts, and  the  indications  of 
great    metal    bars    to    take    the 


'    ^    ">L> 


I   mi   -      - 


iW?k)1 


\  V.  wi 

in 


;  -/-■ 


weight  of  heavier  masses  off 
the  ground  of  the  pediment. 
With  the  help  of  this  evidence, 
Professor  Sauer  lias  been  able 
not  only  to  ascertain  the  exact 
position  of  figures  either  still 
extanl  or  recorded  by  Carrey,  but  to  infer,  with  a  high 
degree    of    probability,    the    character    and    position    of 


THE    PARTHENON 


2  95 


-l-y 


■ """''  f ! 


<-£is    ■'•'•" 


figures  now  entirely  lost.  Such  indications  cannot,  of 
course,  suffice  for  the  restoration  of  a  lost  group  where 
there  is  no  other  material  to  sup- 
plement  them ;    but    where    such 

material  exists,  the  marks  on  the 
pediment  are  a  great  help  in 
choosing  between  alternative  pos- 
sibilities and  in  fitting;  the  various 
figures  together  in  their  probable 
relation. 

The  back  or  western  '  pediment 
is  the  better  known  to  us  in  its 
general  composition,  though  the 
finest  individual  figures  preserved 
are  nearly  all  from  the  east  pedi- 
ment ;  it  will  therefore  be  most 
convenient  to  consider  the  sub- 
ject and  the  probable  restoration 
of  the  west  pediment  first. 

The  subject,  as  we  are  told  by 
Pausanias,  was  the  contest  be- 
tween Athena  and  Posidon  for 
the  land  ;  this,  as  we  learn  from 
other  recorded  versions  of  the 
legend,  must  mean  for  the  land  of 
Attica.  Each  of  the  rival  deities 
is  said  to  have  produced  a  symbol 

1  It  will  be  remembered  that  some  travellers  of  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth 
centuries  confused  the  front  and  back  pediments,  because  the  church  was  entered 
from  what  was  the  back   of  the   Parthenon  as  a  temple. 


U 


296  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

or  token  of  possession,  —  Athena  her  olive  tree,  and 
Posidon  a  salt  spring;  both  these  symbols  were  shown 
in  the  precincts  of  the  Erechtheum  throughout  classi- 
cal times.  For  the  moment  in  this  contest  chosen  by 
the  artist,  and  the  manner  in  which  he  represented  it, 
we  are  dependent  in  the  first  place  upon  Carrey's  sketch, 
for  the  extant  fragments  do  not  suffice  to  show  us  the 
arrangement  of  the  central  group.  In  addition  to  these, 
we  may  compare  the  treatment  of  the  same  subject  on 
a  vase  found  at  Kertch  and  now  in  .St.  Petersburg ;  and 
the  group  of  Athena  and  Posidon  occurs  also,  with 
some  variations  of  pose,  on  certain  Athenian  coins  and 
a  relief.  We  must  remember  that  the  subject  appeared 
again  in  a  group  set  up  on  the  Acropolis  near  the 
Parthenon,  which,  as  we  have  noticed,  was  not  improb- 
ably an  alternative  design  for  the  pediment.  The 
Kertch  vase  shows  the  most  extensive  composition  and 
is  the  most  clearly  related  to  the  Parthenon  —  some 
even  recognise  in  the  little  temple  represented  on  the 
vase  a  kind  of  symbolic  acknowledgment  on  the  part 
of  the  painter  of  the  source  from  which  his  representa- 
tion is  derived;  but  when  we  compare  it  carefully  with 
Carrey's  drawing,  we  must  admit  that  it  is  impossible 
to  see  the  same  motives  in  the  principal  figures  of  the 
two  compositions.  Athena  indeed  advances  in  both 
cases  away  from  the  centre ;  on  the  vase  her  right 
arm  is  raised  with  the  point  of  the  spear  directed  down- 
ward, as  if  just  before,  or  more  probably  just  after,  a 
blow  that  has  struck   the   ground.       Hut    Posidon,  who 


THE   PARTHENON  297 

on  the  vase  is  advancing  in  the  same  direction  as 
.Athena,  and  holding  his  trident  with  point  downward, 
just  as  she  is  holding  her  spear,  is  represented  in  a 
totally  different  attitude  in  Carrey's  drawing;  on  the 
pediment  he  was  not  advancing  but  drawing  back  from 
the  centre.  Again,  on  the  vase  the  motive  of  the  chief 
group  is  complicated  by  the  addition  of  a  third  person, 
Dionysus,  who  approaches  rapidly  from  behind  Athena 
with  thyrsus  advanced,  as  if  to  join  in  the  contest. 
Apart  from  the  variation  in  subordinate  figures,  these 
differences  between  vase  and  pediment  in  the  central 
group  suffice  to  show  that  the  moment  and  even  the 
subject  of  the  representation  are  not  identical  in  the 
two  cases.  The  vase  seems  to  follow  a  different  version 
of  the  myth,  which  introduces  Dionysus  as  one  of  the 
principal  actors;  and  although  its  interpretation  has 
been  much  disputed,  there  seem  only  two  possible 
explanations  of  the  action  of  the  chief  figures:  either 
they  are  represented  in  the  very  act  of  producing  their 
respective  symbols,  —  perhaps  at  the  moment  after  the 
blow  of  spear  and  trident  that  have  produced  olive 
and  salt  spring,1  —  or  else,  as  some  suggest,'  Posidon 
is  represented  as  attacking  with  his  trident  the  olive  of 
Athena,  while  the  goddess,  supported  by  Dionysus  and 
her  sacred  snake,  hastens  to  its  protection.  Neither  of 
these  motives  can  possibly  be  reconciled  with  the  action 
of  the  figures  on  the  pediment,  as  recorded  by  Carrey's 
sketches :     and    it    cannot    be    maintained    that    these 

1  Petersen,  Arch.  Z.,  1S75,  P-  u5-  2  Robert,  Hermes,  1SS1,  p.  60. 


298  ANCIENT    ATHENS 

sketches,  which  are  supported  by  other  evidence,  are 
incorrect  in  their  record  of  the  whole  composition.  It 
has  been  necessary  to  devote  so  much  attention  to  the 
vase,  because  some  writers l  were  inclined  to  overrate 
its  importance,  especially  when  it  was  first  discovered, 
and  even  to  follow  it,  rather  than  Carrey's  sketch,  in 
their  attempts  to  recover  the  composition  of  the  pedi- 
ment. While  avoiding  so  extreme  a  view,  we  need  not 
refuse  to  admit  that  the  vase  is  derived  from  the  pedi- 
ment, though  it  treats  the  subject  in  an  independent 
manner;  it  probably  resembles  the  pediment  in  having 
the  olive  tree  in  the  centre  of  the  group  and  in  the 
treatment  of  Athena.  The  salt  spring,  represented  by 
two  dolphins,  corresponds  closely  to  the  indications  in 
Carrey's  and  other  sketches.  Here,  however,  the  resem- 
blance ends;  and  the  subordinate  figures  on  the  vase 
are  chosen  freely  by  the  artist  to  fill  the  sides  of  his 
field  ;  nor  can  we  trace  any  direct  connection  between 
them   and   the  pedimental  figures. 

The  subject,  as  treated  on  coins,  varies  considerably; 
but  the  usual  type  shows  Athena  and  Posidon  as  if 
in  friendly  converse,  with  the  olive  tree  between  them  ; 
it  is  a  probable  conjecture  that  this  type  reproduces 
the  group  set  up  to  the  north  of  the  Parthenon  and 
already  more  than  once  referred  to.  In  any  case  it 
has  no  close  relation  to  the  pediment,  any  more  than 
a   relief   published   by    Robert,"  in   which    the   two   rival 

1  Especially  Stephani,  who  first  published  the  vase,  Compte  Rendu,  1872-3. 
-  Hermes,  1881,  i>.  60. 


THE    PARTHENON 


299 


deities  await  the  arbitrament  of  their  quarrel  on  either 
side  of  a  table,  on  to  which  Nike  is  emptying  the 
votes  from  an  urn.  On  some  coins,  however,  we 
have  a  figure  of  Athena  and  her  olive  tree  which 
corresponds  very  closely  to  the  figure  on  the  pedi- 
ment, and  which   may  help   us   in   its   restoration. 

Let  us  now  see  what  may  be  inferred  from  Carrey's 
drawings,  from  the  extant  remains,  and  from  other 
evidence,  as  to  the  subject  and  composition  of  the 
west  pediment. 

In  the  centre  was  the  olive  tree,  for  which  the 
socket  can  still  be  seen  in  the  floor  of  the  pediment ; 
to  the  left  of  it  was  Athena,  advancing  impetuously 
from  behind  it;  and,  as  she  advances,  she  turns  half 
round  to  face  her  rival.  Posidon,  on  the  right  of 
the  olive,  was  not  advancing  but  starting  back,  as  if 
some  sudden  and  unexpected  object  had  sprung  up 
in  his  path ;  this  object  can  hardly  be  anything  but 
the  olive  tree  itself,  the  symbol  of  his  opponent's  vic- 
tory and  his  own  defeat.  The  result  of  the  contest 
is  thus  clearly  enough  indicated  by  the  attitude  of 
the  two  chief  figures  —  the  confident  and  triumphant 
gesture  of  the  goddess,  who  perhaps  grasped  a  branch 
of  the  tree  with  her  left  hand,1  and  the  hasty  retreat 
of  Posidon,  who  practically  acknowledges  his  defeat, 
speak  for  themselves ;  there  is  no  need  of  messengers 
to  declare  the  decision,  nor  of  jurors  to  arbitrate. 
Behind  each  is  a  chariot,  which  serves,  as  at  Olympia, 

1  B.  M.  Catalogue,  339.  13. 


300  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

to  frame  the  central  group,  and  to  facilitate  the  tran 
sition  from  its  colossal  size  to  the  smaller  scale  of  the 
subordinate  figures.  The  chariot  of  Athena  is  driven 
by  her  constant  attendant,  Nike,  who  here  serves  also 
to  typify  her  victory ;  the  chariot  of  Posidon  has  also 
a  female  charioteer,  probably  his  consort,  Amphitrite. 
Beside  the  horses  on  either  side  is  another  fio-ure. 
These  two  have  been  interpreted  as  Hermes  and  Iris, 
the  messengers  and  heralds  of  the  gods,  who  may  ap- 
propriately be  present  to  marshal  the  rival  claimants 
for  the  land  ;  their  position  and  action  is  inconsistent 
with  the  suggestion  that  they  are  sent  to  carry  a 
message  from  Zeus  to  the  two  competing  deities. 

Behind  the  charioteers  on  either  side,  the  rest  of 
the  pedimental  held  is  filled  with  a  number  of  sub- 
ordinate figures  which  have  given  rise  to  a  very  great 
variety  of  interpretations.  A  bare  enumeration  of 
these  would  require  a  considerable  space,  but,  if  we 
exclude  mere  random  guesses,  we  may  distinguish 
two  main  principles  of  interpretation,  one  or  other  of 
which  is  predominant  in  the  more  probable  theories. 
Either  these  figures  represent  a  series  of  minor  divini- 
ties or  of  heroes,  or  else  they  are  to  be  regarded  as 
a  series  of  local  personifications  serving  to  indicate 
the  place  where  the  event  took  place.  The  two  prin- 
ciples are  not  indeed  mutually  exclusive ;  it  is  possible 
for  a  deity  or  a  hero  to  represent  his  chosen  haunt 
or  the  place  that  is  most  closely  associated  with  his 
worship;   but  such  cases   are   the  exception   rather  than 


THE   PARTHENON  301 

the  rule.  The  first  theory  has  found  a  recent  advo 
cate  in  Professor  Furtwangler,1  who  identifies  every 
figure,  with  much  ingenuity,  but  upon  rather  inade- 
quate data.  Me  sees  on  the  left  side  Cecrops  and  his 
family  as  the  partisans  of  Athena,  on  the  right  Erech- 
theus,  with  his  daughter  and  grandsons,  as  the  adhe- 
rents of  Posidon ;  he  even  goes  so  far  as  to  identify 
the  recumbent  figures  at  the  ends,  and  those  next 
them,  as  the  heroes,  Buzyges  and  Butes,  and  their  wives. 
This  view  may  be  contrasted  with  the  theory  of  Brunn., 
who  practically  reduces  the  subordinate  figures  to  a 
sort  of  animated  map  of  the  coast  from  the  Eleusinian 
Cephisus  to  Sunium.  A  more  probable  application 
of  the  same  method  of  interpretation  may  be  seen  in 
the  identification  of  the  recumbent  figure  at  the  left, 
or  north  end,  as  the  river  Cephisus,2  of  which  the  bed, 
marked  by  olive  belts,  can  actually  be  seen  to  the 
north  of  the  Acropolis,  and  the  two  end  figures  at 
the  right  end  as  Ilissus  and  Callirrhoe,  also  visible 
to  the  south ;  in  this  way  we  have  a  close  analogy 
to  the  eastern  pediment  of  the  temple  at  Olympia, 
where  the  recumbent  figures  at  the  ends,  according 
to  the  identification  given  by  Pausanias,  represent 
the    river    gods     Alpheus    and    Cladeus;3   and,    while 


1  Masterpieces  of  Greek  Sculpture,  Appendix. 

2  The  old  conventional  name  of  this  figure  is  the  Ilissus,  chosen  as  that  of  the 
most  famous  river  of  Athens;  this  identification  is,  however,  improbable  on  topo- 
graphical grounds. 

3  It  is  true  that  this  identification  has  been  disputed,  but  not,  I  think,  on  any 
sufficient  grounds. 


3°2 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


these  define  the  scene  of  the  action  that  is  portrayed, 
they  are  also  placed  in  such  a  position  as  to  corre- 
spond, when  seen  on  the  temple,  to  the  actual  and 
visible  topography  of  the  region.  The  style  of  the 
Cephisus,  with  its  flowing,  water-like  texture,  as  we 
shall  see,  strongly  confirms  this  identification;  and  if 
it  be  accepted,  symmetry  and  composition  alike  require 
that   the   female    figure    kneeling    beside    him    should 

be  associated  with 
him,  as  a  spring 
or  tributary.  The 
only  one  among 
the  other  figures 
that  offers  any 
clear  evidence  to 
assist  its  identifi- 
cation is  that  of  a 
seated  man,  with 
a  girlish  figure 
kneeling  beside  him  and  putting  her  arm  round  his 
neck.  This  figure,  which  is  still  in  situ  on  the  pedi- 
ment, is  seated  on  a  great  coil  of  a  snake,  and  can 
hardly  be  any  one  but  Cecrops ;  the  snake  is  an  allu- 
sion to  his  earth-born  origin  ;  in  cruder  representations 
he  has  a  snake-like  tail  instead  of  legs.  As  Cecrops  is 
said  to  have  been  present  at  the  contest  between  Athena 
and  Posidon,  —  as  arbiter,  according  to  some  accounts, 
—  and  as  he  also  appears  as  a  seated  and  kingly  figure 
on    the    Kertch   vase,  there   is   everything   in  favour  of 


wL 

■  5?3 

■  ;\! 

$ 

Hm^^ 

£?~ 

■    ^Hj 

i\ 

¥ 

i§* 

^^BiV       ^^^H 

By  permission  of  Messrs.  A.  \V   Mansell  &  Sons. 

Cecrops  and  Daughter. 
From  West  Pediment. 


THE    PARTHENON  303 

his  identification  in  the  pediment.  It  follows  naturally 
that  the  three  female  figures  that  appear  beside  him  in 
Carrey's  drawing  are  his  three  daughters,  Aglauros, 
Herse,  and  Pandrosos.  These  maidens,  in  Attic  legend, 
are  best  known  in  connection  with  the  child  Erichtho- 
nius,  who  was  intrusted  to  their  custody  by  Athena. 
It  is  therefore  natural  to  identify  the  child  who  ap- 
pears between  two  of  them  as  Erichthonius.  It  is, 
indeed,  difficult  to  reconcile  such  an  identification  with 
the  recorded  version  of  the  story,  according  to  which 
the  boy  was  given  to  them  concealed  in  a  chest  which 
they  were  forbidden  to  open,  and,  when  the  maidens, 
or  two  of  them,  violated  this  command,  they  were  struck 
with  madness  and  threw  themselves  from  the  Acropo- 
lis. But  it  is  probable,  as  Miss  Harrison  suggests,  that 
this  tale  merely  grew  up  to  explain  an*  obscure 
ritual ;  it  does  not  seem  consistent  with  the  fact  that 
Aglauros  was  the  special  patroness  of  the  Athenian 
youths,  who  took  their  oath  in  her  precinct,  and  that 
Herse  and  Pandrosos  were  associated  with  her  as 
fostering  divinities. 

The  figures  on  the  right  side,  behind  the  chariot 
of  Posidon,  are  even  more  difficult  to  identify,  partly 
because  what  is  left  of  them  is  extremely  fragment- 
ary, and  Carrey's  drawing  is  of  a  summary  char- 
acter. They  consist  of  a  seated  female  figure  with 
two  children,  a  reclining;  female  figure  with  a  nude 
figure  —  whether  male  or  female  is  very  much  dis- 
puted —  seated  on  her  knees,  and  another  seated  female 


3°4 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


figure.1  These  are  most  commonly  regarded  as  marine 
divinities  associated  with  Posidon  ;  the  tempestuous 
treatment  of  the  drapery  of  the  only  one  of  them  of 
which  a  considerable  portion  survives  certainly  adds 
to  the  probability  of  this  theory,  but  certainty  on  this 
matter  hardly  seems  to  be  attainable. 

Before  considering  the  character  of  the  pedimental 
sculptures,  both  in  composition  and  in  execution,  it  will  be 
best  to  discuss  also  the  probable  restoration  and  interpre- 
tation of  the  east  pediment.  Here  we  have  a  more  diffi- 
cult task  before  us  —  one  which  at  first  sight  may  well 
seem  hopeless,  since  Carrey's  drawings  fail  us,  except  so 
far  as  concerns  the  few  figures  still  extant  from  either  end 
of  the  pediment.  Fortunately,  however,  we  possess  in 
this  case  a  relief,  evidently  derived  from  the  eastern  pedi- 
ment of  the  Parthenon,  and  probably  reproducing  it  more 
faithfully  than  any  monument  that  can  be  quoted  from 
the  western  pediment.  With  the  help  of  this  relief,  and 
of  Professor  Sauer's  study  of  the  indications  on  the 
building,  it  is  perhaps  possible  to  restore,  with  at  least 
some  degree  of  probability,  the  main  composition. 

The  subject  of  the  pediment,  as  we  learn  from  Pausa- 
nias,  was  the  birth  of  Athena.  We  have,  in  Pindar  and 
in  the  Homeric  hymn  to  Athena,  descriptions  of  this 
event  which  show  us  a  poetical  conception  worthy  to 
be  set  beside   the  sculpture  of  the    Parthenon  :  — 

1  Furtwangler  places  yet  another  figure,  which  he  identifies  as  Erechtheus, 
between  tliis  ami  the  kneeling  man  (river  god).  Hut  there  <lncs  nol  seem  to  lie 
room.  Willi  this  disappears  his  identification  <>f  the  three  female  figures  as  the 
daughters  of  Erechtheus  with  their  children, 


THE    IWRTIIKNON  305 

"  When  by  the  craft  of  Hephaestus,  by  the  blow  of 
the  bronze  axe,  Athena  leaping  forth  from  the  crown 
of  her  father's  head  shouted  with  an  exceeding  great 
cry,  and  the  heaven  shuddered  at  her  and  mother 
Earth. 

"  Whom  Zeus  the  counsellor  himself  bore  from  his 
holy  head,  clad  in  her  warlike  arms,  golden  and  glitter- 
ing. Reverence  came  upon  all  the  immortals  as  they 
saw  her.  And  she  in  haste  rushed  forward  in  front  of 
aegis-bearing  Zeus  from  his  immortal  head,  brandishing 
a  sharp  spear.  And  great  Olympus  was  shaken  terribly 
at  the  might  of  the  gray-eyed  goddess ;  and  earth 
around  resounded  terribly ;  and  the  sea  was  moved, 
stirred  in  dark  waves,  and  suddenly  the  foam  was  poured 
forth.  And  the  bright  son  of  Hyperion  stayed  his 
swift-footed  horses  for  a  long  time,  until  the  maiden 
Pallas  Athena  took  from  her  immortal  shoulders  the 
divine  armour ;  and  Zeus  the  counsellor  rejoiced." 

The  Attic  vases  that  reproduce  this  scene  show 
Athena,  like  a  miniature  doll,  clad  in  armour,  emerging 
from  the  crown  of  her  father's  head,  as  he  sits  enthroned 
among  the  gods ;  Hephaestus,  the  axe  still  in  his  hand, 
starts  back  from  the  result  of  his  blow ;  Apollo  with  his 
lyre  and  Ilithyia  stand  near  to  Zeus.  Though  most  of 
the  figures  in  this  composition,  including  that  of  Zeus 
himself,  are  appropriate  enough,  and  indeed  do  not 
admit  of  much  variation,  it  is  improbable  that  Athena 
should  have  been  represented  in  such  a  manner  in  the 
pediment  of  her  temple.     We  should  rather  expect  her 


306 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


Birth  of  Athena. 
On  puteal  at  Madrid. 

to  share  with  Zeus  the  position  of  honour  in  the  centre 
of  the  group ;  "  she  rushed  forward  in  front  of  Zeus,"  as 
the  Homeric  hymn  has  it.  The  relief  from  the  cylindri- 
cal well-head  (puteal)  now  at  Madrid  shows  us  the  scene 
treated  in  this  way,  with  Athena  moving  impetuously 
forward  in  front  of  Zeus,  who  sits  enthroned ;  between 
the  two,  Nike  floats  to  crown  her.  Behind  Zeus  stands 
Hephaestus  with  his  axe,  starting  back  ;  and  beyond  him 
are  the  three  Fates,  who,  on  the  other  side,  bring  the 
composition  round  again  to  Athena.1  The  whole  com- 
position is  evidently  derived  from  some  well-known  origi- 
nal, which  can  hardly  be  any  other  than  this  Parthenon 
pediment ;  the  figure  of  Athena  has  a  strong  resem- 
blance to  the  figure  of  Athena  in  the  west  pediment, 
and  the  figure  of  Hephaestus  recalls  the  figure  of 
Hephaestus  still  extant.  It  is  hardly  rash  to  infer  that 
the  Fates  were  also  present  on  the  pediment,  in  some 
form  not  unlike  that  we  see  on  the  Madrid  puteal. 

If  now  we  examine  the  indications  noted  by  Professor 

1  The  relief,  being  mi  a  cylinder,  is  of  course  continuous.  It  is  usually  broken, 
for  convenience  of  reproduction,  between  llcphsestus  and  the  Fates,  But  it  must  be 
remembered  that  this  break  is  arbitrary,  and  dots  not  exist  in  the  puteal. 


THE    PARTHENON  307 

Saner,  we  find  that  the  central  group  consisted  of  a 
seated  figure  on  a  throne,  evidently  Zeus,  and  a  standing 
figure  in  front  of  him  to  the  ri<dit ;  this  must  have  been 
Athena.  Hephaestus,  from  his  prominent  share  in  the 
action,  probably  came  next  to  one  of  these  two ;  and  the 
extant  torso,  with  its  inclination  to  the  right,  must  be 
placed  beyond  Athena,  if  the  action  of  starting  back 
from  the  blow  is  to  be  retained.  Behind  Zeus  is  a  space 
for  another  standing  figure ;  here  Apollo,  with  his  lyre, 
may  appropriately  be  placed,  if  we  may  judge  from  the 
vases ;  behind  him  are  places  prepared  for  one  seated 
and  two  standing  figures.  The  three  Fates  of  the  puteal 
at  once  suggest  themselves  as  offering  just  what  is  re- 
quired by  the  conditions ;  and  thus  we  have  the  whole 
of  the  gap  filled  up  on  the  left  side.  On  the  right  side 
we  must  restore,  behind  Hephaestus,  one  seated  and  two 
standing  figures,  one  of  the  two  being  Nike,  if  the 
extant  torso  be  thought  to  belong  to  this  pediment 
rather  than  to  the  western ;  beyond  them  was  a  figure, 
now  lost,  hurrying  to  the  right,  corresponding  to  the 
figure  in  rapid  motion  to  the  left,  which  is  still  extant  just 
beyond  the  gap  on  the  left  side.  These  two  figures  are 
evidently  the  messengers  who  are  bearing  the  news  of 
the  birth  of  Athena  from  Olympus  to  the  world  beyond  ; 
the  one  extant  is  usually  identified  as  Iris,  and  she  was 
probably  matched  by  Hermes  at  the  other  side.  These 
two,  then,  form  a  sort  of  limit  within  which  is  the  as- 
sembly actually  present  at  the  divine  event  on  Olympus. 
The  identification  of  the  rest  of  the  subordinate  figures 


3o8 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


m  ii 


J 


near    the    angles   of   the    pediment 

has    been     much     disputed.       The 

only  thing  certain  is  that  the  whole 

scene   is   bounded  by   the   sun-god 

rising  from  the  waves  at   the    left 

end,     driving     his     team     of     four 

horses,  and  that  the  moon-goddess 

2     is  sinking,  also  with  her  four-horse 

o     car,1  beneath  the  field  of  the  pedi- 

"g     ment  at  the  right  end.      Thus  the 

I  |     scene     is     represented    as     taking 

2  ~     place  at  sunrise,  and  instead  of  the 

£   s 

h  •-!     local  definition  of  scene  which  we 

w   «j     found    on    the    west  pediment,   we 

have    a    kind     of     cosmic     settino- 


^    c 


which    is   appropriate   to   the   more 
august  theme. 

As  to  the  other  figures,  we  again 
meet  with  the  same  alternative 
theories  as  in  the  case  of  the  west 
s  pediment,  —  the  one,  which  would 
|  recognise  in  them  gods  or  heroes 
present  at  the  scene,  the  other, 
which  would  regard  them  as  local, 
or  in  this  case  perhaps  rather 
cosmic,  impersonations.     The  latter 

1  The  theory  that  this  was  the  Moon,  or  probably 
Night,  riding  <>n  a  horse  was  finally  disposed  of  by 
Professor  Sauer's  discovery  of  the  remains  of  the 
other  horses  extant  on  the   pediment. 


THE    PARTHENON  309 

view  seems  in  this  case  preferable.  If  they  arc  gods, 
it  would  be  difficult  to  explain  why  they  are  outside 
Olympus  rather  than  within  it.  If  heroes,  —  or,  rather, 
heroines,  for  there  is  only  one  male  figure  among 
them,  —  it  is  not  easy  to  explain  their  presence  or 
the  principle  on  which  they  are  selected.  Professor 
Furtwangler,  for  example,  suggests  the  Attic  hero 
Cephalus  '  for  the  reclining  male  figure,  because  of  his 
association  with  the  dawn ;  but  that  association  is  so 
intimately  connected  with  the  personality  of  Eos 
(Aurora)  that  it  is  difficult  to  recognise  an  allusion  to 
it  in  a  scene  where  the  dawn  is  represented  only  by  the 
rising  sun-god.  The  view  that  the  figures  beyond  the 
messengers  at  either  end  are  impersonations  of  nature  is 
thoroughly  in  accordance  with  the  practice  of  Greek  art 
during  its  best  period.  But  in  this  case  we  evidently 
must  not  look  for  personifications  so  strictly  local  as 
may  perhaps  be  recognised  in  the  west  pediment.  There 
the  boundaries  were  marked  by  two  rivers  actually 
existing  near  the  Acropolis  itself ;  here  they  extend 
from  sunrise  on  the  east  to  moonset  on  the  west,  and 
so  include  the  whole  visible  world.  The  personifications 
that  have  been  suggested  with  most  probability  are  in 
accordance  with  this  principle.  Thus  Brunn  suggested 
that  the  reclining  male  figure,  who  faces  the  rising  sun, 
represents  Mount  Olympus,  lighted  by  the  rays  of  the 
dawn ;    and   Olympus,   in  this  case,  is  not  a  mere  geo- 

1  He  is  commonly  called  Theseus  ;  I  do  not  think  any  one  now  maintains  this 
identification  as  probable  or  even  possible  ;  but  it  affords  a  convenient  name. 


3io 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


graphical  impersonation,  but  is  to  be  thought  of  as  the 
typical  mountain,  the  home  of  the  Olympian  gods.  In 
the  two  seated  female  figures  who  come  next,  Brunn 
recognised  the  Hours,  to  whom,  according  to  Homer, 
as  they  sat  in  their  place  at  the  gates  of  Heaven,  "was 
intrusted  the  care  of  great  Heaven  and  Olympus,  to 
open   and  to   close  the    solid    cloud."     Thus    the    mes- 


By  permission  of  Messrs.  A.  W.  Mansell  &  Sons. 

"IIorae"  and  Iris,  from  East  Pediment. 

senger,  Iris,  in  hurrying  past  them,  would  be  repre- 
sented as  passing  from  Olympus  to  the  world  beyond. 
In  the  corresponding  space  at  the  other  end,  next  to 
the  setting  moon,  are  three  female  figures,  one  seated 
apart,  the  other  two  intimately  associated,  the  one  re- 
clining in  the  other's  lap.  These  three  figures  are  often 
called  the  Fates;  but  we  have  seen  that  the  Madrid 
puteal    seems    to     indicate     that     the    position    of    the 


THK    PARTHENON  311 

Fates  is  nearer  to  the  centre  of  the  composition,  where 
they  find  a  more  appropriate  place.  Brunti  suggested 
that  these  figures  represent  the  clouds  that  accom- 
pany the  setting  moon  ;  the  impersonation  of  clouds, 
familiar  in  Greek  literature,  is,  of  course,  possible 
enough.  If  this  line  of  interpretation  be  right, 
another  suggestion  is  that  of  Dr.  Waldstein,  who 
would  identify  the  two  closely  associated  figures  as 
the  Sea  in  the  lap  of  the  Earth.1  It  is  impossible 
to  reach  certainty  on  such  a  matter  as  this ;  but  the 
general  principle  of  interpretation  may  be  accepted, 
while  its  application  in  detail  may  be  left  to  indi- 
vidual taste.  Keats  may  well  have  had  these  figures 
near  the  ends  of  the  east  pediment  in  his  mind  when 
he  associated  the  sculptures  of  the  Parthenon  with 

"  a  billowy  main, 
A  sun,  a  shadow  of  a  magnitude." 

So  far  we  have  been  concerned  mainly  with  the  prob- 
able restoration  and  interpretation  of  the  pediments ;  we 
must  now  consider  their  artistic  qualities  both  in  compo- 
sition and  in  execution,  and  in  doino-  this  we  must 
naturally  devote  our  attention  mainly  to  such  portions  of 
the  sculpture  as  are  still  extant.  It  is  impossible  from 
this  point  of  view  to  make  any  distinction  between  the 
two  pediments,  at  least  in  their  present  condition ;  if 
more  prominence  is  given  to  the  composition  of  the  west 

1  The  chief  objection  to  this  is  that  the  sun  is  represented  rising  from  the  waves 
of  the  sea — as  it  would  on  Olympus  —  and  that  the  moon  would  not  be  likely  to 
set  in  the  sea  at  the  same  time  —  nor  at  all  at  Olympus. 


3i2  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

pediment  and  to  the  detailed  execution  of  the  eastern, 
this  is  only  the  result  of  the  accident  that  has,  in  the  one 
case,  given  us  Carrey's  drawing,  in  the  other,  a  few 
figures  in  more  perfect  preservation. 

The  strict  symmetry  which  we  find  in  earlier  pedi- 
mental  compositions,  such  as  those  of  y£gina  and  Olym- 
pia,  is  observed  also  in  the  Parthenon,  but  with  a  certain 
admixture  of  variety.  Thus  the  figures  to  the  right  and 
left  of  the  centre,  both  in  the  east  and  west  pediments, 
seem  to  have  corresponded  to  one  another  in  number 
and  also,  apparently,  in  action  and  position ;  even  the 
two  children  whom  we  see  beside  the  figure  just  behind 
the  chariot  of  Posidon  correspond  with  one  rather  older 
child  in  the  left  half  of  the  same  pediment.  Yet  in  spite 
of  this  evident  correspondence,  the  figures  on  either  side 
break  up  into  groups  which  vary  the  monotony ;  thus 
the  four  figures  behind  Athena's  chariot  fall  naturally 
into  two  groups  of  two  each,  while  the  four  figures  that 
correspond  to  them  on  the  right  side  consist  of  a  group 
of  two  in  the  middle,  between  two  isolated  figures.  And 
the  extreme  end  figures  of  the  west  pediment  are  in  one 
case  a  reclining  male  and  a  kneeling  female  figure,  while 
at  the  other  end  the  sexes  are  reversed.  Again,  in  the 
east  pediment  we  have  noticed,  next  to  the  sun  and 
moon,  a  group  of  three  figures  on  each  side,  which  are 
remarkably  similar  in  pose,  the  one  nearest  the  centre 
turning  her  head  to  look  toward  the  centre,  the  one  in 
the  middle  full-face,  the  outside  reclining  figure  looking 
away   from   the  centre;     yet    here   again    each   group   is 


THE    PARTHENON  313 

broken  up,  so  that  on  the  left  the  two  seated  figures  are 
closely  associated,  and  the  reclining  figure  is  isolated, 
while  on  the  right  the  reclining  figure  and  the  seated 
figure  next  it  are  in  intimate  relation,  and  the  other 
seated  figure  is  separated  from  them.  The  gradual 
intensification  of  interest  as  the  centre  of  the  composi- 
tion is  approached  harmonises  with  the  manner  in  which 
the  eye  is  carried  on  from  figure  to  figure  and  from  group 
to  group ;  but  here  also  there  is  variety;  the  climax  of 
interest  in  the  centre  of  the  composition  is  approached, 
as  has  been  well  said,  in  a  succession  of  undulations 
rather  than  in  a  continuous  and  even  slope.  To  descend 
to  more  technical  details,  extraordinary  skill  is  shown  in 
meeting  the  difficulties  inherent  in  pedimental  composi- 
tion, and  proceeding  from  the  elongated  triangular  shape 
of  the  field  that  has  to  be  filled.  The  device  of  kneeling 
and  standing  figures  here  seems  so  appropriate  that  its 
necessity  does  not  obtrude  itself.  The  difference  of  size 
between  the  figures  in  the  middle  and  those  at  the  sides 
is  so  cleverly  dealt  with  that  it  partly  adds  to  the  effect, 
partly  escapes  notice.  The  colossal  stature  of  the  prin- 
cipal figures  in  the  west  pediment  seems  to  be  demanded, 
not  by  the  architectural  conditions,  but  by  the  story 
itself:  — 

KaXw  Kai  fieydXco  aw  Ttvvetriv  ws  re  Oew  Trep, 
d/i.<£is  apL^y'jXw  '   Xaol  8"  vtt   oA.i'£oves  rjaav.1 

But  it  is  softened  by  the  device  already  employed  at 
Olympia,  of  placing  a  chariot  on  each  side  of  the  central 

1  Horn.  TL  XVIII.  518-519. 


3i4  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

group ;  these  chariots  with  their  teams  not  only  separate 
the  larger  figures  from  the  smaller,  but  also  serve  as  a 
sort  of  frame,  to  throw  the  figures  between  them  into 
higher  apparent  relief,  and  make  them  stand  out  con- 
spicuously. In  the  east  pediment  a  more  subtle  device 
seems  to  have  been  employed.  We  have  noticed  the 
indications  that  there  was,  on  either  side  of  the  central 
group,  a  seated  figure,  placed  at  an  equal  distance  from 
the  centre.  It  is  probable  that  these  figures  were  ap- 
proximately on  the  same  actual  scale  as  those  next  to 
them  toward  the  centre ;  while,  at  the  same  time,  by  a 
well-known  convention  of  Greek  relief,  their  heads  were 
represented  as  about  on  a  level  with  those  of  the  stand- 
ing figures  next  to  them  on  the  outside.  Thus,  by  a 
combination  of  natural  and  conventional  scale,  they  made 
the  change  almost  imperceptible,  while,  at  the  same  time, 
they  added  to  the  variety  of  the  whole  group. 

For  our  knowledge  of  these  and  other  characteristics 
of  the  composition  we  are  to  a  great  extent  dependent 
upon  inferences  from  more  or  less  satisfactory  evidence ; 
when  we  come  to  consider  the  style  of  the  sculptures 
themselves,  we  must  go  to  the  surviving  originals, 
which,  though  forming  but  a  small  proportion  of  the 
whole  pediments,  have  sufficed  to  give  them  a  supreme 
position  among  works  of  sculpture.  We  must,  how- 
ever, remember  that  this,  the  unanimous  verdict  of 
modern  critics  and  artists,  finds  no  confirmation  in  the 
records  of  classical  time.  Pausanias  passes  over  the 
Parthenon  sculptures  with  less  attention  than  he  gives 


THE    PARTHENON  315 

to  the  comparatively  crude  and  archaic  pediments  and 
metopes  of  Olympia,  and  there  is  no  other  direct 
reference  to  them  in  all  extant  ancient  literature, 
though  the  statue  of  the  goddess  within  the  temple 
is  often  mentioned.  Strange  as  this  may  seem  to 
us,  we  need  not  infer  that  the  ancient  Greeks  set  no 
store  by  these  sculptures.  Classical  writers  very 
rarely  make  any  direct  references  to  works  of  art ; 
the  pride  of  the  Athenians  in  their  Acropolis  and 
all  it  contained  is  well  enough  attested,  and  the 
pediments  of  the  Parthenon,  though  not  separately 
referred  to,  formed  an  essential  part  of  the  glory 
of  their  town.  It  is  true  that  they  are  architectural 
sculptures,  and  so,  from  their  mere  size  and  number, 
could  not  all  have  been  executed  by  the  master  re- 
sponsible for  the  design  ;  and,  moreover,  the  execution 
varies  to  some  extent  even  in  the  extant  figures,  and 
so  betrays  the  work  of  different  hands.  Yet,  even  when 
compared  with  the  finest  specimens  of  ancient  art  that 
may  be  seen  in  our  museums  —  and  some  at  least  of 
these  may  claim  to  be  originals  from  the  hand  of  an 
ancient  sculptor  —  the  Elgin  marbles  maintain  their 
unrivalled  excellence.  Nothing  could  bear  clearer 
testimony  to  the  high  standard  of  work  attained  by 
the  sculptors  who  were  employed  under  Pericles  and 
Phidias  to  assist  in  the  execution  of  their  great  designs. 
The  two  male  figures  that  are  best  preserved  are  the 
reclining  male  figure,  commonlv  called  "  Theseus," 
perhaps  to  be  identified  as  Olympus,  from  the  east  pedi- 


316 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


ment,  and  the  river-god  Cephisus  from  the  west  pedi- 
ment. The  two  show  a  contrast  in  character  which 
is  thoroughly  in  accordance  with  the  identifications 
proposed.  The  one  is  massive,  solid,  and  heroic  in 
proportions,  though  free  alike  from  the  clumsiness 
which  often  mars  figures   of  such   a  character   in  later 


By  permission  of  Messrs.  A   \V.  Mansell  St  Sons. 


"Theseus,"  ekom  East  Pediment. 

art,  and  from  the  athletic  exaggeration  that  we  noticed 
in  the  metopes;  his  muscles,  though  strongly  developed, 
are  nowhere  unduly  conspicuous;  and  his  position  is 
one  of  dignified  repose.  It  is  remarkable  how  little  the 
general  effect  of  this  figure  is  impaired  by  the  weathered 
condition  of  its  surface;  there  are,  indeed,  indications 
that  it  was  never  even  finished  with  the  minute  elabora- 
tion which  we  see  in   the   drapery  on  the  same  pediment. 


THE   PARTHENON  317 

The  splendid  design  and  proportions  were  left  to  speak 
for  themselves,  and  consequently  they  still  can  impress 
us  almost  as  when  the  work  was  fresh.  The  river-god 
from  the  west  pediment,  on  the  other  hand,  is  a  marvel 
for  the  rendering  of  softness  of  texture  in  the  flesh  ; 
every  muscle  seems  relaxed,  and  the  modelling  is  so  flow- 
ing, as  almost  to  suggest  a  fluid  material,  in  contrast  to 
the  firmness  of  the  muscles  of  the  "  Theseus."  It  seems 
a  fair  inference  that  this  character  of  work  was  inten- 
tionally chosen  by  the   artist  as  appropriate  to  a  river- 


By  permission  of  Messrs.  A.  W.  Mansell  *  Sons. 

"Ilissus,"  from  End  of  West  Pediment. 

god ;  and  at  the  same  time  he  gave  a  fuller  meaning 
to  the  conventional  reclining  position  which  we  see  at 
Olympia,  and  which  becomes  common  in  later  art. 
Here  the  body  and  limbs  alike  are  relaxed,  and  seem 
as  if  they  could  hardly  raise  themselves  from  the  ground. 
The  female  draped  figures  are  even  more  beautiful 
in  the  details  of  their  execution;  they  also  vary  to  some 
degree  in  excellence,  and  reach  their  climax  in  the  three 
figures  which  come  next  to  the  moon-goddess  at  the 
right  end  of  the  east  pediment.     The   drapery  here   is 


3i8  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

true  both  to  its  own  material  and  to  the  forms  which  it 
covers;  it  is  not  like  the  rather  mannered  Attic  drapery 
of  a  slightly  later  date,  which  sometimes  clings  and  shows 
the  form  of  the  body  to  an  almost  impossible  degree, 
sometimes  floats  in  masses  and  curves  that  are  too  ex- 
travagant in  their  independence.    It  may  seem  remarkable 


By  permission  of  Messrs.  A.  W.  Mansell  &  Sons. 

Three  Draped  Female  Figures,  from  North  End  of  East  Pediment. 

that  the  earliest  example  of  complete  freedom  from  archa- 
ism also  gives  us  the  highest  perfection  in  the  treatment 
of  drapery ;  but  the  elaborate  care  which  had  been  given 
by  earlier  Attic  sculptors  to  the  study  of  drapery  was  not 
wasted ;  though  it  often  led  to  stiff  and  frigid  conven- 
tions, it  created  a  style  in  which  the  merely  accidental 
was  scrupulously  avoided;  and  the  same  principle  is  to  be 
observed  in  the  Parthenon  pediments.  In  the  Olympian 
pediments,  and  even  in  the  metopes  of  the  Parthenon, 
which,  as  we  have  seen,  are  the  products  of  a  more 
athletic  school,  accidental  folds  and  details  are  not 
avoided,  though  they  sometimes  contrast  strangely  with 


THE   PARTHENON  319 

the  archaic  stiffness  of  their  surroundings.  But  in  the 
drapery  on  these  figures  from  the  pediments  nothing 
is  accidental ;  in  spite  of  the  extraordinary  richness  and 
freedom  of  the  general  effect,  every  fold  is  in  its  exact 
place  in  a  system  that  permeates  the  whole.  The 
broader  masses  are  designed  in  harmony  with  the 
figures  and  with  one  another;  and  the  minuter  folds 
into  which  they  are  subdivided  are  always  in  strict 
relation  to  these  broader  masses,  so  that,  while  giving 
them  infinite  variety,  they  never  obscure  their  general 
form.  The  mastery  in  the  rendering  of  surface  which 
we  find  in  the*  pediments  is  also  an  inheritance  from 
the  crude  attempts  of  early  Attic  sculptors  —  especially 
in  the  contrast  of  the  broader  and  smoother  folds  taken 
by  a  thicker  and  heavier  material  with  the  wavy  or 
crinkled  surface  of  a  finer  and  lighter  web.1  It  is  true 
that  there  seems  at  first  little  resemblance  between  the 
mere  convention  which  we  often  see  in  the  earlier 
sculptures  and  the  style  of  the  pediments  of  the 
Parthenon  ;  yet,  without  such  influence  behind  them,  it 
could  hardly  have  been  possible  for  the  men  who 
worked  under  Phidias  to  have  surpassed,  not  only 
their  predecessors,  but  also  their  successors,  in  technical 
ability,  as  well  as  in  nobility  of  conception.  In  the 
female  figures  themselves  we  see  the  same  grandeur 
of  proportions  as  in  the  male  figures  —  here  even  more 
remarkable   in   contrast   to   the  types  that   are  familiar 

1  Possibly  the  contrast  is  between  woollen  and  linen  fabrics,  as  generally  used  in 
Doric  and  Ionic  fashions  respectively. 


32o  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

in  later  Greek  art.  No  heads  have  been  preserved 
among  the  pedimental  figures,  with  the  exception  of 
that  of  the  "  Theseus,"  which  is  so  badly  weathered 
as   to    show   nothing    beyond    the    general    proportions, 


De  Labordk  Head,  probably  from  Parthenon  Pediment, 

and  a  few  inconsiderable  fragments ;  but  a  head  which  is 
better  preserved,  though  much  restored,  most  probably 
comes  from  one  of  the  figures  on  the  pediment;  it  may 
well  have  been  brought  to  Venice,  where  it  was  found,  by 
a  secretary  of  Morosini.     This  head,  known  from  owners 


THE   PARTHENON  321 

to  whom  it  has  belonged  as  the  Weber  head  or  the 
de  Laborde  head,1  shows  a  style  thoroughly  in  accord- 
ance with  that  of  the  pediments  —  the  same  nobility 
of  form,  and  the  same  simplicity  and  breadth  of  model- 
ling; the  hair,  too,  with  its  broad  mass  subdivided  into 
finer  tresses,  reminds  us  of  the  draper)-  of  the  pedimental 
figures.  It  is  impossible  to  say  with  certainty  to 
which  of  the  figures  this  head  may  have  belonged ; 
it  is  sometimes  assigned  to  Nike,  who  drives  the  chariot 
of  Athena   in   the   west  pediment. 

The  portion  of  the  Parthenon  pediments  which  excited 
in  the  highest  degree  the  admiration  of  earlier  travellers, 
was  the  chariot  team  of  Athena  in  the  west  pediment. 
Wheler  says,-  "  The  Horses  are  made  with  such  great  Art 
that  the  Sculptor  seems  to  have  outdone  himself,  by  giv- 
ing them  a  more  than  seeming  Life  :  such  a  Vigour  is  ex- 
press'd  in  each  posture  of  their  prauncing,  and  stamping, 
natural  to  generous  Horses."  The  fame  of  these  horses 
led  to  their  destruction ;  for  when  Morosini  captured 
the  Acropolis  in  1687  he  tried  to  carry  them  off  as  a 
trophy,  and  broke  them  to  pieces  in  the  attempt.  We 
have,  however,  still  remaining,  the  horses'  heads  from 
the  teams  of  the  sun  and  the  moon  in  the  eastern  pedi- 
ment, and  these  suffice  to  justify  a  description  such  as 
that  of  Wheler.  The  contrast  between  the  two  is 
marked  ;  the  horses  of  the  sun-god,  as  they  rise  from 
the   sea,    throw   up    their  heads  with   nostrils  dilated  to 

1  It  is  still  in  the  collection  of  the  Marquise  de  Laborde  at   Paris. 

2  Page   361. 


322 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


inhale  the  breath  of  the  morning ;  at  the  other  end  of 
the  pediment  the  horse  of  the  moon-goddess  —  the 
only  one  of  the  team  which  is  preserved  —  though  tired 
as  he  approaches  the  end  of  his  course,  still  shows  his 
mettle ;  indeed,  this  horse  is  equal  in  mastery  of  hand- 
ling to  any  piece  of  work  in  the  Parthenon.  An 
obvious  comparison  is  with  the  beautifully  sculptured 
horses  of  one  of  the  chariots  on  the  frieze  ; 1  it  resembles 
them  in  the  wonderfully  sensitive  treatment  of  the  skin 
of  the  muzzle,  which  seems  almost  to  quiver,  and  its 
contrast  with  the  smooth  surface  of  the  cheek  showing 
the  bone  beneath;  but  in  the  head  from  the  pediment  the 

eye  is  more  prominent  — 
a  variation  partly  due  to 
difference  of  relief  and 
of  lighting,  but  partly 
also  to  a  distinct  concep- 
tion of  the  type.  These 
horses'  heads,  as  well  as 

the  drapery  of  the  female 

Horse  of  Selene,  from  East  Pediment.       r  ,  , 

figures,     show     to      how 

great  a  degree  some  of  the  sculptors  who  executed  the 
pediments  of  the  Parthenon  had  mastered  the  render- 
ing of  texture  in  marble. 

The  frieze  of  the  Parthenon  represents  a  continuous 
procession,  which  can  hardly  be  any  other  than  that 
of  the  Panathenaea.  The  composition  starts  from 
the    south-west    corner,  whence    it    proceeds    along    the 

1  See  )>.  339,  below. 


THE   PARTHENON  323 

west  and  north  sides  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  south 
side  on  the  other,  to  turn  the  corners  of  the  east  front ; 
here  the  head  of  each  division  approaches  a  group  of 
gods  seated  to  await  the  arrival  of  the  festal  throng. 
The  order  of  the  procession  can  be  realised  at  a  glance 
with  the  help  of  the  accompanying  diagram.     The  west 


knights chariots  .  various  .  cows  and  sheep 


N 

be 

c 
C 
nl 
D. 
<u 

w 

E 

x; 
ha 
'c 

sw 

s 

maidens  ' 

magistrates 

gods 

priest  and  priestess 

gods 

magistrates 

maidens 


knights chariots  .  various  .  cows 

frieze  is  still  in  situ  on  the  Parthenon  (p.  336) ;  that  of 
the  other  three  sides  is  preserved,  mostly  in  the  British 
Museum ;  a  certain  number  of  slabs  are  in  museums  at 
Athens  or  elsewhere. 

The  west  frieze  shows  the  Athenian  knights  prepar- 
ing for  the  procession.  Some  are  already  mounted,  and 
advancing  toward  the  north-west  corner  singly  or  in 
pairs  ;  others  are  bridling  their  horses,  giving  the  last 
touches  to  their  own  toilet  with  the  assistance  of  youth- 
ful attendants,  or  standing  beside  their  horses  ready  to 
mount.  Thus  there  is  the  greatest  variety  in  the  posi- 
tion of  both  horses  and  men.  The  preparations  seem 
to  overlap  the  corners  at  each  end ;  at  the  extreme 
west  end  of  the  north  side  is  one  man  yet  un- 
mounted   beside    a    rearing    horse,    and    at    the    west 


324 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


end  of  the  south  side  are  some  horses  still  walking, 
as  if  not  yet  included  in  the  advancing  troop  of  cavalry. 
This  troop  takes  up  more  than  half  the  length  of  the 
two  long  sides  of  the  temple.  The  horses  in  it  are 
bounding  impetuously  forward,  sometimes  in  irregular 
order,  sometimes  in  regular  lines,  six  or  seven  abreast ; 


«u( 


By  p< 


West  Frieze  of  Parthenon. 
Rearing  Horse. 

but  the  perfect  seat  of  the  riders,  and  the  graceful  ease 
with  which  they  manage  their  horses,  give  dignity  to  the 
cavalcade,  and  regulate  the  impetuousness  of  its  advance. 
In  front  of  the  riders  come  the  chariots,  each  accom- 
panied by  an  armed  warrior  (a77-o/3aTi7<?),  who  either 
accompanies  the  driver  in  the  car  or  mounts  and  dis- 
mounts while  it  is  in  motion.  The  former  is  the  case 
on  the  extant  examples  from  the  south  side,  the  latter  in 
those   from   the  north,  and    hence   some    have    inferred 


THE   PARTHENON 


325 


that  different  subjects  are  represented ;  but  in  all  prob- 
ability we  need  see  here  nothing  but  a  concession  to  the 
exigencies  of  artistic  representation.  The  driver  always 
occupies  the  right  of  the  car — a  fact  which  shows  us 
that  in  ancient  Greece,  as  in  England  now,  it  was  cus- 
tomary to  take  the  left  side  of  the  road  when  passing 
another  vehicle.  Consequently,  where,  as  on  the  south 
frieze,  the  chariots  are  advancing  to  the  right,  the  armed 


I5y  permission  of  Messrs.  A.  W.  M 


Knights  from  North  Frieze. 

warrior  would  be  hidden  behind  the  charioteer  while 
mounting  or  dismounting,  as  may  be  realised  by  looking 
at  the  corresponding  part  of  the  north  frieze. 

In  front  of  the  chariots,  on  both  north  and  south 
friezes,  is  a  series  of  groups  on  foot.  One  of  these  con- 
sists of   bearded  men   who   converse   as  the)'  advance  ; 


326  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

these  are  perhaps  the  thallophori,  or  bearers  of  olive 
branches,1  or  they  may  represent  those  who  have  been 
chosen  in  the  contest  of  euandria,  of  manly  bearing  and 
comeliness ;  one  of  them  is  placing  a  wreath  on  his  head. 
In  front  of  them  march  the  musicians  playing  on  the 
flute  and  the  lyre,  and  before  them,  again,  men  carrying 


f 


^4^ 


-Jfr    p^^W 


By  permission  of  Messrs.  A.  W.  Mansc-11  &  Sons. 

North  Frieze  of  Parthenon. 
Older  men. 

sacred  vessels  or  sacrificial  implements.  All  that  is  left 
of  these  on  the  south  side  is  a  fragment  of  a  man  bear- 
inc:  a  flat  trough  ;  on  the  north  side  are  several  similar 
figures,  as  well  as  some  water  carriers,  holding  great 
hydriae  on  their  shoulders.     The  eastern  portion  of  both 

l  In-  branches  are  not  represented  in  sculpture,  but  may  have   been  added  in 
painting. 


THE    IWRTIIKNON 


327 


By  permission  of  Messrs.  A.  W.  Mansell  &  Sons. 

North  Frieze  of  Parthenon. 
Men  bearing  vases. 


sides  is  occupied  by  the  procession  of  victims,  —  cows 
only,  the  Athenian  offering:,  on  the  south  side;  cows 
and  sheep,  the  offering  of  the  Athenian  colonies,  on 
the  north. 

The  east  frieze  begins  at  each  end  with  a  series  of 
maidens  bearing  bowls,  jugs,  censers,  and  other  of  the 
lighter  sacrificial  implements  —  an  honourable  task  that 
was  the  privilege  of  well-born  Athenians ;  they  approach 
from  either  side  a  group  of  men  conversing,  —  five  on  the 
one  hand  and  four  on  the  other,  —  who  may  probably  be 
identified  as  the  nine  archons,  who  have  gone  on  in  ad- 
vance, and  are   awaiting  the    arrival  of    the   procession. 


328 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


The  head  of  it  is  received  at  either  side  by  marshals, 
and  similar  figures,  distinguishable  by  their  long  cloaks, 
appear  at  intervals  throughout  the  frieze  to  order  and 
regulate  the  advance ;  at  the  same  time  they  introduce 
variety  into  its  uniform  direction  by  the  occasional  pres- 
ence of  figures  standing  full-front  or  turned  to  face  its 


ol  Messrs.  A    \v    Mansell  &  Sons 

North  Frieze  of  Parthenon. 

Cows. 


progress.  Between  the  two  groups  of  archons  are  the 
twelve  gods,  seated  on  chairs  to  receive  the  hospitality  of 
Athena  and  of  her  chosen  city.  They  are  divided  into 
two  groups,  with  a  gap  between  them  containing  figures 
to  which  we  must  return  later.  Each  group  turns  its  back 
upon  tin's  central  scene,  and  looks  toward  the  approach- 
ing profession.     There  has  been  much  controversy  about 


THE    PARTHENON 


329 


the  identification  of  these  gods;  but  although  there  is 
stili  some  room  for  difference  of  opinion,  it  can  now  be 
confined  within  very  narrow  limits.  If  we  omit  smaller 
accessory  figures,  there  are  seven  gods  and  five  goddesses 
present ;  in  the  usual  orthodox  pantheon  of  later  days 
the    sexes   were    equally  divided,   Dionysus  being  often 


By  permission  of  Messrs.  A   W.  Mansell  &  Sun*. 

North  Frieze  of  Parthenon. 
Sheep. 


omitted.  Reckoning  him  as  present,  there  is  no  diffi- 
culty in  identifying  the  seven  gods  and  four  out  of  the 
five  goddesses  —  for  it  is  evident  that  we  must,  in  such 
an  assembly,  recognise  all  the  enthroned  figures  as  deities 
of  Olympian  rank,  not  mere  attendants,  impersonations, 
or  heroes.     To   the   left   of  the   centre   sits  Zeus,  on   a 


33° 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


throne  distinguished  from  the  rest  by  a  decorated  arm; 
next  him  is  Hera,  raising  her  veil,  with  her  attendant 
Iris  standing  beside  her.  Next  is  Ares,  easily  to  be 
recognised  by  his  impatient  and  impulsive  gesture,  as  he 
clasps  his  raised  knee  with  both  hands.  Then  comes  a 
group  of  two  figures,  male  and  female,  whose  relation  is 


By  permission  of  Messrs.  A.  W.  Manscll  &  Song. 

East  Frieze  of  Parthenon. 
Maidens. 


intimate;  she  is  marked  by  her  torch  as  Artemis  and 
he  can  only  be  Apollo ;  he  leans  on  the  shoulder  of  an- 
other god,  the  last  on  this  side,  whose  alert  pose  would 
suffice  to  identify  him  as  Hermes,  the  messenger  ever 
ready  to  start  on  his  errand,  even  apart  from  the  charac- 
teristic hat  or  petasus  which  he  holds  on  his  knee.  On 
the  right  of  the  centre,  the  place  of  honour  corresponding 


TIIK    PARTHENON  331 

to  that  oi  Zeus  is  held  by  Athena  herself,1  here  disarmi  d 
for  the  peaceful  ceremony  over  which  she  presides  ;  she 
is  in  conversation  with  Hephaestus,  who  is  distinguished 
by  his  strong  muscles  and  the  slightly  awkward  pose 
that  hints  discreetly  at  his  lameness.  Then  comes  a 
dignified  bearded  figure,  who  must  be  Posidon,  grouped 
with  a  youthful  god  whose  languid  pose  and  soft  and 
almost  sensual  type  mark  him  as  Dionysus.'-  Beyond 
him  are  two  o-oddesses.  The  one  at  the  end,  against 
whose  knee  leans  a  winged  boy  holding  a  parasol,  must 
be  Aphrodite  with  Eros;  for  the  other  there  are  two 
possible  identifications  left  —  Hestia  and  Demeter.8 
Neither  should  be  omitted  in  such  an  assembly;  but 
Hestia,  though  important  in  ritual,  has  little  prominence 
in  myth;  and  it  is  not  easy  to  explain  the  absence  of 
Demeter  in  a  group  which  is  evidently  intended  to  be 
representative    of    the    religion    of    the    Athenian    state. 

1  I  give  the  accepted  identification,  though  there  is  nothing  apart  from  the  posi- 
tion to  show  that  this  is  Athena;  even  when  the  goddess  lays  aside  her  helmet  she 
usually  keeps  her  regis.  And  it  would  be  easy  to  call  the  figure  Hestia,  and  to  justify 
her  position  by  the  place  of  honour  usually  given  her  in  sacrifice  and  her  association 
with  the  hospitality  of  the  state;  the  appropriateness  of  her  association  with  Hephaes- 
tus is  also  obvious.  In  that  case  Athena  would  be  absent  from  the  frie/e;  perhaps 
her  presence  was  sufficiently  indicated  by  the  great  statue  within  the  temple,  visible 
through  the  great  east  door;  her  guests  only  would  be  on  the  frieze.  It  is  stated  in 
the  B  M.  catalogue  that  Athena  holds  the  Eegis  folded  in  her  lap,  the  snakes 
being  visible;  but  the  object  is  far  from  distinct,  and  has  been  variously  inter- 
preted. 

2  Furtwangler  makes  this  figure  and  the  next  Apollo  and  Artemis,  and  puts  Diony- 
sus and  Demeter  in  their  place  in  the  other  group.  The  torch  is  equally  suitable  to 
Demeter;  but  the  more  vigorous  and  muscular  form  of  the  god  there  is  not  so  suitable 
to  Dionysus. 

3  Unless  this  difficulty  is  avoided,  as  suggested  in  Note  I  above,  by  recognising 
Ilestin  in  the  figure  usually  called  Athena. 


33  2 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


By  permission  of  M< -»rs   A   W.  Mansell  S  Sons. 

East  Frieze  of  Parthenon. 
Group  of  gods. 

If,  however,  we  accept  Demeter  as  the  most  probable 
name  for  this  goddess,  we  must  at  the  same  time  admit 
that  she  has  little  about  her  to  suggest  the  goddess  who 
was,  in  the  fourth  century,  —  though  perhaps  not  in  the 
fifth,  —  the  most  clearly  characterised  in  art.  For  the 
mere  purpose  of  identification,  of  course,  a  few  ears  of 
corn  in  the  hand  would  have  sufficed. 

In  the  central  space  between  the  two  groups  of 
deities  —  a  space  on  which  they  turn  their  backs  as 
they  look  toward  the  advancing  procession  —  a  scene 
is  being  enacted  which  is  variously  explained.  There 
are  two  principal  figures,  a  man  in  a  long-sleeved  tunic 
reaching  to  his  feet,  and  a  woman  in  full  and  rich 
drapery.  She  is  receiving  a  cushioned  stool  from 
off  the  head  of  one  of  two  smaller  female  figures, 
the  other  carries  a  similar  stool  ;  he  is  occupied, 
with  the  help  of  a  boy  who  stands  before  him,  in 
folding  up1  a  large  piece  of  some  heavy  stuff.  The 
subject    here   represented   must   be   some   ritual   act  con- 


1  I  accept  this,  the  B.  M,  catalogs  m'-7S)  description,  as  the  only  one  accurately 
fitting  the  action  of  the  figures.  The  onlyother  possible  explanation  of  the  man's 
action  is  that  he  is  inspecting  the  stuff,  bul  thai  is  Less  probable. 


THE   PARTHENON 


333 


By  permission  (if  Messrs.  A.  W.  Mtuiscll  &  Suns. 

East  Frieze  of  Parthenon. 

Priest,  priestess,  and  attendants,  and  group  of  gods. 

nected  with  the  Panathenaic  festival.  It  need  not,  how- 
ever, be  necessarily  the  culminating  act  of  that  festival ; 
for,  although  its  position  is  central,  we  must  notice  also 
that  the  gods  turn  away  from  it,  and  that  it  seems  to 
have  no  direct  connection  with  the  arrival  of  the  pro- 
cession. It  seems,  so  to  speak,  to  take  place  in  the 
background,  almost  "  behind  the  scenes  "  ;  and,  although 
its  place  is  apparently  so  conspicuous,  it  is  set  over  the 
middle  of  the  great  door,  where  the  sight  of  the  statue 
within  the  temple  would  distract  the  eye  of  a  spectator 
from  it.  It  is  more  likely,  then,  to  represent  some  act 
of  preparation;  some  have  suggested  that  the  man  repre- 
sents merely  a  priest  taking  off  his  outer  garment, 
but  such  a  prominence  is  not  usually  given  to  vest- 
ments in  Greek  ritual,  nor  would  the  chief  officiating 
priest  be  expected  to  perform  any  task  so  active  as  to 
require  him  to  divest  himself  of  his  outer  garment  for 
the  purpose.  It  has  also  been  suggested  that  he  is  taking 
over  or  possibly  inspecting  formally  the  new  peplos, 
which  was  regularly  brought  to  offer  to  the  goddess 
at  the  Panathenaic  festival,  but  this  explanation  hardly 
suits    his    action ;    and    the    same    objection    applies    to 


334  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

Curtius'  ingenious  suggestion  that  the  cloth  is  a 
carpet  to  be  spread  for  the  ceremonial  entertainment 
offered  to  the  gods.  Otherwise  this  explanation  would 
harmonise  well  with  Professor  Furtwangler's  theory 
that  the  stools  also  were  intended  in  the  actual  rite 
to  invite  and  to  symbolise  the  attendance  of  the  gods, 
whom  we  see,  as  they  presented  themselves  to  the  artist's 
imagination,  on  the  frieze.  Some  allusion  to  the  peplos 
is,  however,  certainly  to  be  expected,  and  it  is  not  to  be 
found  anywhere  else  in  the  frieze.  Possibly  we  may 
here  see  the  priest  in  the  act  of  solemnly  folding  the 
old  peplos  to  put  it  away,  and  so  the  scene  implies 
the  gift  of  the  new  one,  which  could  not  well  be  actu- 
ally  represented,  since  it  was  brought  in  the  procession 
spread  as  the  sail  on  the  mast  of  a  model  ship. 

Much  has  been  written  about  the  interpretation  of 
the  composition  of  the  whole,  the  intention  of  the 
designer  in  his  representation  of  the  different  scenes 
and  groups,  and  their  relation  to  the  actual  local  dis- 
tribution of  the  procession  and  the  ritual  acts  that  ac- 
companied it.  It  has  been  suggested,1  for  example,  that 
the  north  and  south  friezes  are  meant  to  represent  the 
two  sides  of  the  same  procession,  and  that  on  the  cast 
frieze  we  see  the  head  of  the  procession  split  and  spread 
out,  so  to  speak,  on  either  side,  by  a  convention  familiar 
in  early  art  with  objects  seen  from  the  front.  In  a 
similar  manner  it  is  suggested  also  that  the  group  of 
gods   are  to  be   thought   of  as  seated  in  a  semicircle,  in 

1  A.  S.  Murray,  in  /.//.. S'.  II.  V  ;. 


THE    PARTHENON  335 

the  centre  of  which  are  the  priest  and  priestess  with 
peplos  and  stools,  while  the  procession  approa<  hes  them 
in  a  direct  line.  We  have  already  seen  reasons  for  doubt- 
ing this  last  theory;  the  scene  in  the  middle  of  the 
frieze  is  evidently  not  what  the  gods  are  looking  at, 
for  they  turn  their  backs  on  it.  And,  altogether,  it  is  to 
be  doubted  whether  any  so  literal  interpretation  of  con- 
ventions should  be  applied  here.  The  problem  set  to 
the  artist  was  to  provide  a  continuous  band  of  decoration 
within  the  colonnade  round  the  temple,  and  the  subject 
chosen  was  the  Panathenaic  procession  and  its  reception 
by  the  gods.  The  gods  were  naturally  placed  over  the 
chief  door  of  the  temple  at  the  east  end,  looking  toward 
the  advancing  procession  ;  and  to  enable  them  to  do  this 
without  the  one  group  of  gods  turning  their  backs  on 
the  others,  a  scene  of  subordinate  importance  is  inserted 
between  the  two.  The  procession  could  only  approach 
the  gods  from  the  two  ends  of  the  east  frieze,  and  at 
each  end  it  turned  the  corner  and  was  continued  along 
the  north  and  south  sides.  The  duplication  was  merely 
a  necessity  of  the  field  provided,  and  there  is  no  need 
to  see  in  it  a  conscious  rendering  of  the  two  sides  of  the 
same  procession  —  still  less  two  different  processions. 
There  is,  indeed,  a  certain  amount  of  variety,  as  we 
have  seen,  which  breaks  the  absolute  symmetrv,  espe- 
cially in  the  front  part  of  the  north  and  south  friezes ; 
but  this  is  only  in  accordance  with  the  artistic  prin- 
ciples which  we  find  throughout  the  Parthenon  sculp- 
tures, and  an  apparent  lack  of  symmetry  is  avoided  by 


33^ 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


devoting  the  west  frieze  to  preparation,  rather  than  to 
continuous  advance. 

The  skill  with  which  design  and  execution  are 
adapted  to  architectural  conditions  is  nowhere  to  be 
observed  in  higher  perfection  than  in  the  Parthenon 
frieze.  We  have  noticed,  in  the  case  of  the  metopes, 
how  their  position  in  the  temple  affected  the  distribution 


liy  permission  of  Messrs.  A.  \V.  Mansell  sc  Sm>: 


West  Frieze  of  Parthenon,  in  situ. 

of  subjects.  In  the  case  of  the  frieze  also  the  usual 
approach  of  a  visitor  was  considered.  It  is  sometimes 
said  that  the  frieze  could  never  have  been  properly  seen 
in  its  position  in  the  building.  This  may  be  admitted 
only  so  far  as  to  allow  that  details  could  not  have  been 
studied  as  conveniently  as  they  can  now  in  the  British 
Museum.      Hut  to  admit   the  statement  as  substantially 


THE    PARTHENON  337 

true  would  be  to  miss  much  of  the  essential  character 
of  the  frieze;  architect  and  sculptor  alike  intended  it  to 
be  seen  where  it  was  placed,  and  adapted  their  work 
accordingly.  It  was,  indeed,  set  high  up,  and  received 
no  direct  light  from  above  ;  but  both  disadvantages 
had  their  compensation.  Seen  between  the  columns 
of  the  outer  colonnade,  the  procession  would  appear  to 
one  who  walked  along  beside  the  temple  from  west 
to  east  to  advance  as  he  advanced,  and  this  illusion 
was  doubtless  calculated.  The  excellent  effect  of  an 
inner  frieze,  as  seen  through  an  outer  colonnade,  can 
best  be  appreciated  from  the  view  of  the  Theseum 
(p.  413).  The  question  of  lighting  is  more  compli- 
cated, and  evidently  engaged  the  sculptor's  careful 
attention.  The  light  reflected  from  the  white  marble 
pavement  below  would  be  strong  enough ;  and  the  low 
relief  was  calculated  to  make  the  best  of  it.  The  relief 
is  higher  at  the  top  than  at  the  bottom  —  about  two 
and  one-fourth  inches  on  an  average,  as  compared 
with  one  and  a  half  inches,1  and  so  the  surface  has 
a  slight  outward  slope,  and  the  lower  outlines  of  the 
projecting  masses  are  in  every  case  deeper  cut  and 
steeper  than  the  upper  outlines,  because  they  can 
depend  on  no  shadows  to  assist  their  effect.  One 
can  easily  realise  the  advantage  of  this  process  in 
many  parts  of  the  frieze  where  the  upper  outlines, 
now  that  they  are  lighted  from  above,  are  indistinct, 
while  the  lower  ones  are  often  too  heavy. 

1  These  measurements  are  taken  from  the  U.  M.  catalogue,  p.  66. 
Z 


338  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

The  extraordinarily  low  relief  in  which  the  frieze 
is  executed  was  doubtless  chosen  partly  because  of 
tli is  question  of  lighting,  partly  because  it  had  to  be 
seen  from  below  and  from  comparatively  near,  so  that 
any  strong  projection  would  have  marred  and  confused 
the  general  effect.  This  low  relief  —  an  average,  as 
we  have  seen,  of  less  than  two  inches  in  depth,  though 
the  height  is  three  feet  four  inches,  a  proportion  of 
about  1:20  —  is  used  with  the  greatest  skill,  so  as  to 
represent  without  difficulty  the  team  of  a  four-horse 
chariot,  and  the  knights  riding  in  some  places  as  many 
as  seven  abreast.  Nor  is  this  effect  mainly  produced  by 
drawing,  such  as  could  be  used  on  a  flat  surface;  where 
there  are  many  figures  side  by  side,  the  view  of  the  series 
is  taken,  not  from  a  position  exactly  perpendicular  to 
the  line  of  advance,  but  at  a  slight  angle  to  the  perpen- 
dicular, so  that  each  figure  slopes  slightly  in  toward  the 
background  from  front  to  back;  and  thus  there  is  pro- 
duced an  illusion  of  depth  beyond  what  is  possible  within 
the  narrow  limits  of  the  relief.  The  technique  is  by  no 
means  uniform  throughout;  the  modelling  of  the  nude, 
the  drapery,  the  treatment  of  the  horses,  and  in  particu- 
lar of  their  manes,  varies  in  different  parts;  it  is  even 
perhaps  possible  to  distinguish  the  different  hands,  and 
to  assign  certain  portions  of  the  frieze  to  them.  The 
more  skilful  have  never  been  surpassed  in  technique; 
an  example  may  be  seen  in  the  horses'  heads  from  one 
of  the  chariot  groups,  chosen  by  Ruskin  '  to  illustrate 
1  Aratra  Pentelici,  p.  174. 


T11K    PARTHENON 


339 


By  p. 


"what  is  meant  by  the  virtue  of  handling  in  sculpture." 
"  The  projection  of  the  heads  of  the  four  horses," 
he  says,  "one  behind  the  other,  is  certainly  not  more, 
altogether,  than  three-quarters  of  an  inch  from  the 
flat  trround,  and 
the  one  in  front 
does  not  in  reality 
project  more  than 
the  one  behind  it, 
yet,  by  mere  draw- 
ing, you  see  the 
sculptor  has  got 
them  to  appear 
to  recede  in  due 
order,  and  by  the 
soft  rounding  of 
the  flesh  surfaces  and  modulation  of  the  veins,  he  has 
taken  away  all  look  of  flatness  from  the  heads.  He  has 
drawn  the  eyes  and  nostrils  with  dark  incision,  careful 
as  the  finest  touches  of  a  painter's  pencil ;  and  then, 
at  last,  when  he  comes  to  the  manes,  he  has  let  fly 
hand  and  chisel  with  their  full  force ;  and  where  a 
base  workman  (above  all,  if  he  had  modelled  the  thing 
in  clay  first)  would  have  lost  himself  in  laborious 
imitation  of  hair,  the  Greek  has  struck  the  tresses 
out  with  angular  incisions,  deep-driven,  every  one  in 
appropriate  place  and  deliberate  curve,  yet  flowing  so 
free  under  his  noble  hand  that  you  cannot  alter,  without 
harm,  the  handling  of  any  single  ridge."     We  may  see 


isiun  of  )li-i..  A   W   Muiiscll  &  Sons. 

South  Frieze  of  Parthenon. 

Chariot. 


34°  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

the  same  or  similar  qualities  of  execution  in  many- 
other  parts  of  the  frieze  —  in  some  of  the  knights,  for 
example,  and  in  some  of  the  slabs  with  the  restive 
cows  and  their  escort.  But  pieces  of  such  extraordinary 
merit  are  the  exception.  The  frieze  as  a  whole  is 
rather  characterised  by  a  good  general  average  of 
work,  which  suffices  to  give  full  effect  to  the  design 
as  a  whole,  and  shows  that  by  the  time  the  frieze  was 
made,  there  was  working  under  Phidias  a  body  of 
sculptors  who  had  attained  a  very  high  degree  of  pro- 
ficiency. At  the  same  time,  some  of  them  even  show 
a  rather  dry  and  mechanical  manner ;  such  may  be 
seen,  to  some  degree,  in  the  slab  with  Posidon  and 
Dionysus,  where  the  excellent  preservation  of  the  sur- 
face makes  it  conspicuous,  in  contrast  to  the  freedom 
and  beauty  of  the  design. 

The  question  as  to  design  and  execution  is  thus 
brought  prominently  before  us ;  and,  in  the  case  of 
pediments  and  frieze,  the  conditions  are  much  the  same, 
since  both  necessitate  an  actual  amount  of  work  beyond 
what  it  would  be  possible  for  one  man  to  carry  out, 
while  both  show  a  unity  of  conception  and  composition 
which  implies  that  the  design  in  general  must  be  that 
of  a  single  man,  or,  if  not,  of  men  working  in  the  closest 
collaboration.  With  the  metopes,  as  we  have  seen, 
the  case  is  different.  Allowing  a  general  supervision 
over  the  distribution  of  subjects,  which  may  have  been 
due  to  the  architect,  probably  in  consultation  with 
Phidias   as  artistic   director  of   the   whole,   we   may  well 


THE    PARTHENON 


34i 


admit  that  each  metope  was  designed  and  executed 
independently.  Fortunately  we  have  some  information 
as  to  the  practice  of  the  Greeks  in  this  matter.  At 
Epidaurus  we  have  the  inscriptions  giving  the  contracts 
for  the  building  of  the  temple  of  Asclepius,  including 
its  sculptural  decoration ;  and  we  find  that  the  sculptor 
Timotheus  —  the   same    man   who    was    later  employed 


By  permission  of  Messrs.  A.  W.  Mansell  &  Sons. 

Group  of  Three  Gods. 
From  east  frieze. 


on  the  Mausoleum,  and  so  one  of  the  most  eminent 
artists  of  his  time  —  undertook  two  different  contracts  : 
to  supply  models  (tvttol)  for  sculptures  which  must 
be  those  of  the  pediment,  for  the  sum  of  900  drach- 
mas;  and  to  supply  acroteria  for  one  gable  for  the  sum 
of  2240  drachmas.  These  acroteria,  which  were  found 
at  Epidaurus,  are  two  Nereids   riding   on  horses,  about 


342  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

half  life-size ;  there  was  probably  a  third  figure  on  the 
apex  of  the  gable,  and  we  know  from  the  Erechtheum 
inscription  '  that  the  sculptors  employed  in  carving  the 
figures  to  be  affixed  to  it,  of  about  the  same  size,  got  60 
drachmas  a  figure.  It  is  a  fair  inference  from  these  pay- 
ments that  the  high  sum  paid  for  the  acroteria  at  Epi- 
daurus  was  given  on  condition  that  the  sculptor  should 
finish  the  figures  himself  and  supply  them  in  marble. 
The  smaller  sum  which  he  received  for  the  whole  group 
of  pedimental  sculptures  must  have  been  for  models 
only,  probably  in  wax,  and  on  a  small  scale  —  a  mere 
sketch  design  from  which  the  sculptors  were  to  work ; 
certainly  not  finished  full-scale  models  which  would 
leave  to  those  who  carved  the  marble  figures  a  purely 
mechanical  task.  If  we  apply  to  the  Parthenon  what 
we  learn  from  the  Epidaurus  inscription,  we  may  fairly 
infer  that  the  various  metopes  were  probably  undertaken 
and  completed  by  several  more  or  less  independent 
artists,  who  merely  conformed  to  a  general  scheme. 
But,  in  the  case  of  the  pediments  and  of  the  frieze, 
the  unity  of  general  design,  coupled  with  the  variety 
of  execution,  implies  that  these  portions  of  sculptural 
decoration  of  the  Parthenon  were  carried  out  from  small 
models  supplied  by  one  man  by  different  hands,  trained 
to  a  certain  uniformity  of  style  and  technique,  but  vary- 
ing considerably  in  skill.  Who  the  man  was  that  sup- 
plied these  models  can  hardly  be  a  matter  of  doubt. 
We    know   that    Phidias   was   intrusted    with   the  general 

'  See  |>.  372,below. 


THE    PARTHENON  343 

supervision  of  the  works  at  Athens  under  Pericles;  we 
cannot  assign  to  any  one  else  the  commanding  influ- 
ence that  trained  a  band  of  artists,  at  first  barely  free 
from  the  trammels  of  archaism,  to  work  with  a  high  de- 
gree of  skill  and  a  mastery  of  technique  that  has  never 
been  surpassed.  The  colossal  gold  and  ivory  statue  of 
the  goddess  within  the  Parthenon  was  from  his  design. 
When  we  find  also,  in  the  sculpture  decorating  the 
same  temple,  great  designs  that  harmonise  with  the 
whole  scheme  of  temple  and  statue,  and  that  themselves 
show  a  wonderful  advance  on  anything  that  had  before 
been  attained  in  such  great  architectural  compositions, 
it  does  not  seem  possible  to  attribute  these  designs 
to  any  other  master  than  Phidias  himself.  This  attri- 
bution, though  it  rests  on  no  direct  ancient  authority, 
has  been  approved  by  the  general  consensus  of  modern 
times,  and  hardly  admits  of  serious  dispute. 

The  excellence  of  the  architectural  sculptures  of  the 
Parthenon,  and  the  extent  to  which  they  are  still  pre- 
served, give  them  a  unique  value  for  us.  But  we  must 
remember  that  the  Parthenon,  like  most  other  Greek 
temples,  was  intended  in  the  first  place  to  shelter  and 
protect  the  statue  which  it  contained.  This  statue  of 
Athena  Parthenos,  the  "  Maiden  Goddess "  of  Athens, 
was  among  the  most  famous  statues  of  antiquity,  and  we 
possess  both  detailed  descriptions  of  it  and  copies  which 
enable  us  to  understand  and  supplement  these  descrip- 
tions. At  the  same  time,  we  cannot  expect  these  copies 
to  give  us  much  help  toward  realising  the  artistic  quali- 


344  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

ties  of  the  original  or  the  impression  which  it  produced. 
In  the  Athena  Parthenos  of  Athens,  as  in  the  Zeus  of 
Olympia,  Phidias  embodied  the  ideal  type  of  the  deity, 
as  it  presented  itself  to  the  Greeks ;  and  he  embodied  it 
in  such  a  form  that,  "  while  following  the  orthodox  Greek 
conception,  he  added  something  to  it,"  and  that  "  no  one 
in  later  times  could  without  difficulty  think  of  the  deity 
in  any  other  shape,"  to  quote  two  only  of  the  numerous 
eulogies  of  his  work  recorded  by  ancient  writers.  The 
higher  imaginative  qualities  of  his  masterpieces  we  can 
only  infer  —  so  far  as  we  can  infer  them  at  all  — from  the 
influence  which  he  exercised  on  contemporary  and  later 
art ;  as  to  their  type  and  execution  we  may  learn  some- 
thing from  the  best  of  the  sculptures  made,  under  his 
direction,  to  decorate  the  building  in  which  the  colossal 
statue  was  to  be  set  up,  and  from  such  other  nearly  con- 
temporary works  as  give  us  some  reflection  of  his  style. 
We  must,  however,  admit  that  the  only  statues  which  a 
Greek  would  have  recognised  as  representative  of  the 
greatest  sculptor  of  Greece  are  irretrievably  lost,  and 
that  it  is  hopeless  to  try  to  recover  them,  except  in 
accessories  and  external  matters.  With  this  reservation 
always  in  mind,  let  us  attempt  to  obtain  some  general 
notion  of  the  appearance  of  the  statue  in  the  surround- 
ings for  which  it  was  designed.  To  help  us  in  this 
attempt,  we  have,  besides  the  descriptions  of  Pausanias 
and  Pliny,  which  are  fairly  detailed,  various  copies  of  the 
statue,  which  unfortunately  vary  in  artistic  merit  in 
inverse  ratio  to  the   completeness  of   their  preservation. 


THE    PARTHENON 


345 


Some  of  these  tell  us  nothing  but  what  we  could  assume 
without  their  help  about  any  Phidian  statue.  The  most 
important  for  our  present  purpose  arc  an  unfinished 
statuette,  not  without  artistic  merit,  which  was  found  in 
Athens,  and  is  generally  known  as  the  Lenormant  statu- 
ette ;  and  a  larger, 
more  elaborate,  and 
better  -  preserved  fig- 
ure, known  from  the 
place  of  its  discovery 
in  Athens  as  the  Var- 
vakeion  statuette, 
which  is  of  Roman 
workmanship  of  the 
basest  and  most  me- 
chanical sort.  To 
them  may  be  added  a 
statuette  found  at  Pa- 
tras.1  This,  as  well  as 
the  Lenormant  statu- 
ette, has  the  advan- 
tage of  giving,  in  part 
at  least,  the  relief  on 
the  shield ;  this  relief 
is  better  preserved  on  the  Strangford  shield  at  the  British 
Museum,  which  also  shows  traces  of  the  painted  design 
on  the  inside.  The  relief  on  the  basis  is  indicated  on 
the   Lenormant  statuette,  and  on  the  Pergamene  copy." 

1  Published  by  Mr.  Cecil  Smith  in  the  British  School  Annual,  III.  PI.  ix. 

2  Jahrb.  V.  p.  114. 


Athena  Parthenos  —  Lenormant 
Statuette. 


346  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

A  visitor,  on  entering  the  Parthenon  through  the 
eastern  door,  would  have  the  statue  directly  facing  him  ; 
but  the  "dim  religious  light"  of  the  interior  —  especially 
noticed  by  earlier  travellers  who  saw  the  church  before 
its  destruction  —  would  at  first  prevent  him  from  seeing 
distinctly,  unless  he  happened  to  have  come  early  on  the 
summer  festival  of  the  goddess,  when  the  beams  of  the 
rising  sun  fell  on  her  statue  through  the  open  door.  As 
his  eyes  became  used  to  the  contrast  from  the  bright 
sunlight  without,  the  first  impression  he  would  receive 
of  the  colossal  statue  would  probably  be  the  extraordinary 
richness  of  its  decoration  and  of  its  materials,  and  the 
contrast  between  the  smooth  white  surface  of  the  ivory 
and  the  broken  glimmer  of  light  on  the  embossed  and 
inlaid  surfaces  of  the  gold.  Then  by  degrees  he 
would  pass  from  such  details  to  the  contemplation  of 
the  statue  as  a  whole,  of  the  grandeur  and  nobility 
of  the  image  in  which  Phidias  had  embodied  the 
Goddess  of  Athens.  Here  we  can  only  follow  him 
imperfectly,  by  the  help  of  our  imagination ;  but  we 
have  a  fairly  complete  notion  how  he  might  have  de- 
scribed what  he  saw. 

The  statue  was  about  thirty  feet  high,  or  thirty-eight 
including  the  basis.1  The  goddess  was  represented  as 
standing,  her  right  knee  slightly  bent  and  advanced  so 
that  the   shape   of   the   limb  was   modelled  through  the 


1  Pliny  says  26  cubits  (=38  feet)  ;  the  Victory  was  4  cubits  (=6  feet),  and  it 
is  about  one-fifth  of  the  height  <>f  the  statue  in  the  Varvakeion  copy,  which  is  prob- 
ably m<  1  hanii  ally  accurate. 


Athena  Parthenos  —  Varvakeion  STATUErrE. 


THE   PARTHENON  349 

drapery,  her  weight  resting  on  her  left  leg,  which  was 
concealed  behind  the  heavy  descending  folds  of  her 
Doric  chiton.  This  garment,  of  heavy  texture,  girt 
above  the  diplois,  or  upper  fold,  was  the  only  one  she 
wore;  above  it  was  the  scaly  aegis,  covering  only  her 
shoulders  and  the  upper  part  of  her  chest,  with  the  gor- 
goneion  set  in  the  middle  of  it.  On  her  head  was  a 
most  elaborate  helmet ;  it  had  a  triple  crest  carried  by  a 
sphinx  and  two  gryphons,  the  raised  cheek  pieces  had 
a  Pegasus  in  relief,  and  on  the  frontlet  was  a  row  of 
the  fore  parts  of  horses.  This  helmet,  of  which  we  can 
best  judge  the  effect  from  gems  and  coins,  and  from  a 
gold  plaque  found  at  Kertch,  was  a  piece  of  ornate 
metal  work  such  as  one  would  associate  with  the  name 
of  a  Benvenuto  Cellini  rather  than  of  a  Phidias ;  it  illus- 
trates the  fact  that  Phidias  was  also  famous  as  a  fine 
worker  in  metal;   Martial's  repeated  expression, — 

"  Phidiaci  toreuma  casli  " 

is  probably  not  purely  conventional.  But  more  than 
this,  it  shows  that  Phidias  did  not  think  this  exercise  of 
his  skill  out  of  place  in  the  details  of  a  colossal  statue. 
The  left  hand  of  the  goddess  rested  on  her  shield,  and 
her  spear  was  supported  against  it.  Within  the  shield 
coiled  the  snake  Erichthonios,  and  its  external  surface 
was  embossed  with  a  representation  of  the  battle  of  the 
Greeks  and  Amazons.  It  was  in  this  scene  that  Phidias 
is  said  to  have  introduced  the  figures  of  himself  and 
Pericles  which  were  made  the  basis  of  a  charge  of  sacri- 


35©  ANCIENT  ATHENS 

lege  against  him ;  it  is  even  stated  that  they  were  so 
cunningly  affixed  that  they  could  not  be  removed  with- 
out loosening  the  bonds  that  held  the  framework  of  the 
statue  together.  The  two  have  been  recognised  on 
the  Strangford  shield,  Pericles  in  the  warrior  whose 
arm  half  conceals  his  face,  and  Phidias  himself  in  the 
bald-headed  old  man  who  swings  an  axe  vigorously 
above  his  head.1  On  the  inside  of  the  shield  was  repre- 
sented the  battle  of  the  Gods  and  Giants ;  traces  of  this 
subject  have  been  found  on  the  inside  of  the  Strangford 
shield ;  this  may  well  have  been  intended  to  reproduce 
the  effect  of  a  woven  or  embroidered  lining.'2  Even 
the  soles  of  the  sandals  were  ornamented  with  a  band  of 
relief,  representing  the  Lapiths  and  Centaurs ;  on  the 
basis  was  an  extensive  composition,  the  creation  of 
Pandora,  in  the  presence  of  twenty  deities.  On  the 
extended  right  hand  of  Athena  was  placed  a  figure  of 
Victory,  itself  fully  life-size.:i      This  extraordinary  elabo- 


1  Plutarch  says  he  held  a  stone  ;  such  a  figure  appears  on  the  shield  of  the  Lenor- 
niant  statuette.  The  various  copies  differ,  and  none  of  them  is  to  be  taken  as  an 
exact  reproduction.  In  the  example  from  Patras  the  figures  are  smaller,  and  so  better 
adapted  to  the  field. 

2  So  Cecil  Smith,  I.e.,  p.  134. 

3  The  right  hand  and  the  Victory  rest  on  a  plain  column  in  the  Varvakeion 
statuette.  It  has  been  disputed  whether  this  column  existed  in  the  original.  It 
appears  on  two  other  copies,  a  coin  and  a  relief,  but  in  two  different  forms.  If  it 
was  present  in  the  original,  it  is  difficult  to  explain  Pausanias'  silence  about  it,  and 
also  the  absence  of  all  decoration  upon  it.  Possibly  the  weight  of  the  Victory  may 
have  proved  too  much  for  the  elaborate  framework  of  the  chryselephantine  statue 
and  consequently  the  arm  may  have  had  to  be  supported  by  a  column  added  later; 
Km  il  so,  it  is  difficult  to  explain  the  various  forms  taken  by  the  column  in  various 
copies.  However  this  may  be,  it  is  practically  certain  that  the  column  did  not  exist 
in  Phidias'  original  design. 


THE   PARTHENON  351 

ration  of  details  and  accessories  was  in  accordance  with 
the  precious  nature  of  the  materials  employed  —  ivory 
for  the  nude  parts,  gold,  possibly  enriched  with  enamel, 
for  the  drapery  and  armour,  and  precious  stones  for  the 
eyes.  That  the  effect  was  rich  and  sumptuous  in  the 
extreme  is  evident  from  the  descriptions  that  we  pos- 
sess ;  that  it  was  also  of  marvellous  beauty  and  of  the 
highest  and  most  ideal  imagination  we  must  infer  from 
what  we  know  of  Phidias  and  from  the  unanimous 
verdict  of  antiquity. 

The  cella  in  which  the  colossal  statue  was  placed 
was  not  bare  of  other  things.  We  possess  a  series  of 
inventories  of  the  contents  of  the  Parthenon,  made  by 
the  various  boards  of  treasurers  as  they  handed  them 
on  from  one  to  another.  We  are  not  surprised  to  find 
that  these  vary  from  time  to  time  with  the  vicissitudes 
of  the  city ;  for  Pericles,  in  his  estimate  of  the  resources 
of  Athens,  included  not  only  the  public  and  private 
dedications  on  the  Acropolis,  but  even  the  gold  of 
the  chryselephantine  statue  itself.  Among  the  objects 
recorded  in  the  Hecatompedos  Naos,  the  cella  of  the 
temple,  at  various  times,  are  many  golden  crowns  and 
rings  and  cups  of  various  forms ;  a  silver  altar  of 
incense  and  a  silver  bowl  for  lustral  water;  and  a  gold 
statue  of  Victory,  which  appears  after  the  expulsion  of 
the  Thirty  Tyrants  and  is  conjectured  by  Michaelis1  to 
have  been  dedicated  from  their  confiscated  property. 
The  closed  back  chamber,  the   Parthenon  proper,  served 

1  Parth.  p.  301. 


352  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

rather  as  a  storehouse,  containing  not  only  cups  and 
crowns,  arms  and  armour,  chairs  and  beds,  musical  instru- 
ments, and  other  objects,  but  fragments  broken  from 
larger  dedications,  especially  if  they  were  of  precious 
metal.  The  prodomus  and  the  opisthodomus  of  the 
temple  were  also  adapted  to  serve  as  treasuries  by  the 
insertion  of  bronze  gratings  which  extended  between 
the  columns  from  floor  to  roof,  those  between  the  cen- 
tral columns  being  made  to  open  and  serve  as  gates. 
In  the  pronaos  were  cups  and  lamps,  mostly  of  silver, 
and  some  crowns  of  gold.  The  opisthodomus,  as  we 
have  already  seen,1  was  used  as  the  treasury  of  the  state. 

1  See  p.  222,  above. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

THE  ERECHTHEUM  AND   THE  TEMPLE  OF  VICTORY 

If  the   Parthenon  shows  us  the  perfection   of  Doric 
architecture,  no  less  does  the  Erechtheum  offer  the  most 


Ekechtheum  from  the  South-east. 

beautiful  example  of  the  Ionic  order,  and  of  the  Ionic 
order  in  its  Attic  form,  with  an  added  grace  and  delicacy. 
The  influence  of  the  Erechtheum  on  later  architecture 
has  probably  been  the  greater.     For  the  beauty  of  the 


2  A 


353 


354  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

Parthenon  depends  mainly  upon  subtle  harmonies  of 
proportion  and  mathematical  exactness  of  curves,  such 
as  defied  the  imitation  of  later  architects  or  masons; 
while  the  rich  carvings  of  the  Erechtheum  and  the 
ornate  design  of  its  parts  could  be  copied  with  more  or 
less  success,  and  have  served  as  models  for  classical 
buildings  both  ancient  and  modern.  At  the  same  time, 
the  perfection  with  which  the  carving  is  executed  is  also 
beyond  imitation,  as  may  be  seen  when  it  is  contrasted 
with  the  later  repairs  that  are  incorporated  in  the  temple 
itself.  Indeed,  for  mere  fineness  of  execution  in  detail, 
it  is  surpassed  by  no  classical  building ;  the  only  things 
that  can  be  compared  to  it  are,  perhaps,  the  Cnidian 
Treasury  at  Delphi  and  the  finest  of  the  Sidon  Sar- 
cophagi. 

In  order  to  understand  the  present  state  of  the  build- 
ing, it  is  necessary  to  have  some  general  notion  of  its 
history.  We  have  already  noticed  the  records  of  its 
building,  damage,  and  repair  in  classical  times.  In 
Christian  times  it  was  turned  into  a  church  ;  the  great 
north  door  was  repaired,  the  western  corridor  was  used  as  a 
narthex  or  ante-chapel,  and  the  main  part  of  the  building 
was  divided  into  a  nave  and  aisles  by  rows  of  columns, 
of  which  the  foundations  still  remain.  An  apse  was 
constructed  within  the  eastern  portico,  and  a  carved 
marble  iconostasis  was  set  up,  of  which  some  panels  may 
still  be  seen  in  the  temple.  In  Turkish  times  it  served 
as  the  harem  of  the  governor  of  Athens ;  to  make  an 
extra  room  the  spaces  between  the  columns  of  the  north 


THE   ERECHTHEUM  AND  TEMPLE  OF  VICTORY     355 

portico  were  walled  up.  In  this  state  we  see  it  in  Stuart's 
drawing.  Lord  Elgin  carried  off  to  London  the  most 
northerly  column  of  the  eastern  portico,  and  also  one  of 
the  Caryatides,  which  he  replaced  by  a  plain  pillar  ;  this 
pillar  appears  in  views  of  the  Erechtheum  taken  between 
his  time  and  the  Greek  War  of  Independence.  This 
seems  perhaps  the  least  defensible  of  his  acquisitions, 
but  his  action  was  to  a  great  extent  justified  by  subse- 
quent events.  During  the  siege  of  the  Acropolis  by  the 
Turks,  in  1827,  the  roof  of  the  north  portico  was  de- 
stroyed, and  the  building  was  otherwise  damaged.  It 
was  rebuilt  to  a  certain  extent  between  1838  and  1846; 
the  place  of  the  Caryatid  in  the  British  Museum  was 
supplied  by  a  terra-cotta  cast  taken  from  the  original ; 
another  was  restored,  mainly  in  marble,  in  a  very  taste- 
less manner ;  and  the  whole  building  was  patched,  partly 
with  brick,  partly  with  marble,  into  the  rather  motley 
state  in  which  it  now  appears.  Soon  after  this,  in  1852, 
a  storm  blew  down  the  engaged  columns  on  the  west 
end  and  the  wall  between  them  —  a  calamity  the  less 
to  be  deplored  since  these  were  themselves  only  a  repair 
of  Roman  date.  At  the  present  time  (1902)  a  project  is 
on  foot  for  rebuilding  some  more  of  the  temple,  espe- 
cially of  the  north  portico,  with  the  help  of  original  frag- 
ments still  lying  on  the  ground. 

The  plan  of  the  Erechtheum  is  unique,  and  has  given 
rise  to  much  speculation.  It  was  evidently  partly  clue 
to  the  conformation  of  the  ground,  partly  dictated  by 
the  necessity  of  including  within  a  single  building  sev- 


356  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

eral  small  shrines  or  sacred  objects  that  did  not  readily 
fit  into  the  normal  plan  of  a  Greek  temple.  The  east- 
ern part  of  the  building  is  ordinary  enough  ;  it  consists 
merely  of  an  oblong  cella  faced  by  a  portico  of  six  Ionic 
columns  ;  this  is  on  the  higher  level.  It  joins  at  the  back 
on  to  a  chamber  at  a  lower  level,  which  had  no  direct 
access  from  outside,  but  opened  at  the  west  on  a  sort 
of  broad  corridor,  which  had  windows  to  light  it  on 
the  west,  and  was  entered  from  the  north  and  south 
ends  by  doors  leading  into  projecting  porticoes.  The 
north  portico,  which  was  the  principal  entrance,  was 
also  the  most  richly  ornamented  part  of  the  building; 
it  contained  the  great  door  and  was  supported  by  six 
columns,  four  in  the  front  and  one  at  each  side.  The 
south  porch  was  only  entered  from  the  west  corridor 
by  a  small  doorway,  which  gave  access  to  a  narrow 
staircase  leading  up  to  the  higher  level ;  its  roof  was 
carried  by  six  richly  draped  "  maidens,"  as  they  are 
called  in  the  inventory,  though  the  later  term,  Caryatides, 
is  now  generally  applied  to  them. 

It  is  generally  agreed  that  the  eastern  cella  is  the 
temple  of  Athena  Polias,  built  to  hold  her  ancient 
wooden  image,  which  was  the  centre  of  many  cere- 
monies of  the  Athenian  state  religion.  The  western 
portion  was  the  temple  of  Erechtheus,  and  contained 
many  objects  associated  with. his  worship;  before  these 
can  be  considered  it  is  necessary  to  describe  this  part 
of  the  Erechtheum  rather  more  in  detail.  As  to  the 
central  chamber,  there  is  not  much  to  be  inferred  from 


i^H(WlW 


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t-TT   I"!    t-TT    TT  I 


THE  ERECHTHEUM  AND   TEMPLE  OF  VICTORY     357 

the  extant  remains.1  Practically  nothing  can  be  traced 
except  the  level  of  its  floor,  which  is  the  same  as  that 
of  the  north  portico  outside  ;  the  position  of  the  wall 
which  separated  it  from  the  eastern  cella  can  be 
clearly  seen,  and  also  those  of  two  different  partitions 
separating  it  from  the  western  corridor  —  one  narrow, 
and  therefore  probably  of  wood,  one  broader,  and 
therefore  probably  of  marble.  It  is  to  be  noticed  that 
the  original  working  of  the  surface  up  to  a  certain 
height  is  prepared  to  suit  the  narrower  partition, 
which  is  slightly  to  the  east  of  the  other ;  but  that 
in  the  upper  courses  holes  are  left  for  the  bonding 
in  of  the  upper  part  of  the  marble  partition.  It 
follows  that  the  substitution  of  the  marble  for  the 
wooden  partition  was  a  change  made  during  the  con- 
struction of  the  building.  The  difference  of  level 
between  the  eastern  cella  and  the  central  chamber 
is  about  nine  feet ;  but  there  is  no  indication  to 
show  whether  there  was  a  staircase  joining  the  two,  or, 
indeed,  any  communication  between  them.  Beneath 
the  floor  of  the  central  chamber  there  is  just  room  for 
a  crypt;  but  the  surface  of  the  rock  is  left  in  its  natural 
state  and  shows  no  indication  of  any  structures  resting 
on  it.  On  the  other  hand  there  is,  in  the  north-west 
corner  of  this  crypt,  a  door  leading  into  a  correspond- 
ing crypt  below  the  north  portico ;  and  close  to  this  door 


1  The  foundations  for  rows  of  columns,  dividing  this  chamber  into  a  nave  and 
aisles,  date  from  later  times,  as  may  be  seen  by  a  glance  at  the  materials  of  which 
they  are  constructed. 


358  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

are  some  clefts  in  the  rock  which,  as  has  recently  been 
pointed  out,1  have  some  resemblance  to  the  form  of  a 
trident.  This  may,  as  Dr.  Nilsson  suggests,  be  the 
axwa  t/hcuVtjs  which  was  shown  to  visitors  in  the 
Erechtheum,  and  associated  with  the  tale  of  the  con- 
test between  Athena  and  Posidon  for  the  land.'2  On 
the  other  hand,  this  s'acred  object  has  usually  hitherto 
been  identified  with  some  rather  shapeless  marks,  such 
as  might  possibly  have  been  made  by  a  blow  of  a 
trident,  in  the  rock  just  the  other  side  of  the  door 
between  the  two  crypts;  and  just  above  these  marks 
there  was  a  square  hole,  of  which  the  edge  may  still 
be  seen,  in  the  pavement  of  the  north  portico,  so  that 
visitors  could  look  down  into  the  space  beneath. 
Whichever  of  these  be  the  authentic  mark,  —  the 
words  of  Pausanias  suit  that  pointed  out  by  Dr. 
Nilsson  better,  while  the  architectural  indications  seem 
rather  to  fit  the  marks  below  the  north  portico,  —  the 
door  between  the  two  crypts  may  probably  have  had 
something  to  do  with  the  exhibition  or  lighting  of  the 
symbol  of  Posidon.  Beneath  the  western  corridor 
is  a  large  cistern,  and  this,  though  it  shows  traces  of 
repair  and  reconstruction  at  various  later  dates,  appears 
to  have  formed  part  of  the  original  plan  of  the  building. 
It  was  once  roofed  over  by  great  blocks  of  marble,  of 
which  one  end  still  remains,  built  in  to  form  a  course  oi 
the  western  wall,  and  cut  on  the  outside  to  make  a 
step;    the    other    ends    of    these    blocks    rested    on    the 

1  I:.  I  »r.  Nilsson,  /.//..v.  XXI.  p.  325.  2  See  pp.  295-296. 


The     ERECHTHEUM 
Section     rMn   east   to  west 

look. img     North 


THE  ERECHTHEUM  AND  TEMPLE  OF   VICTORY     359 

foundation  that  carried  the  partition  between  the  cor- 
ridor and  the  central  chamber.  The  arch  now  visible 
was  substituted  when  those  blocks  were  broken  away. 
The  cistern  beneath  was  probably  the  Odkacrcra  formed 
by  Posidon  when  he  struck  the  rock  with  his  trident ; 
it  is  large  enough  to  produce  the  sound  of  waves  that 
was  audible   when   the  wind   was  in   the  south. 

The  west  end  of  the  building  is  of  a  very  peculiar 
character,  and  shows  certain  features  which  are  only 
explicable  on  the  supposition  that  there  were  early 
precincts  and  structures  in  this  region  that  could  not 
be  moved,  and  to  which  the  new  building  had  to  be 
fitted  and  accommodated.  One  of  these  was  the  Pan- 
droseum,  in  which  the  sacred  olive  tree  of  Athena 
grew;  this  we  know  to  have  been  just  outside  the 
Erechtheum  on  the  west ;  and  its  existence  here  was 
probably  the  reason  why  the  Erechtheum,  or  at  least 
its  western  portion,  had  to  be  entered  from  the  north. 
There  is  a  small  door  in  the  west  corridor  opening 
into  the  Pandroseum ;  and  it  was  also  approached  by 
a  door  in  the  corner  of  the  north  portico,  where  it 
overlapped  the  north-western  corner  of  the  temple. 
There  being  no  great  door  in  the  west  wall,  light  had 
to  be  admitted  in  some  way  into  the  corridor  and  the 
chamber  behind  it.  This  was  effected  by  making  the 
west  wall  solid  only  to  a  height  of  about  twelve  feet 
above  the  floor;  on  this  low  wall  rested  a  row  of 
columns.  The  appearance  of  the  western  end  of  the 
temple,  as   it  stood  before   it  was   blown   down   by  the 


360  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

storm  of  1852,  may  be  realised  with  the  help  of  Stuart's 
sketch.  Between  the  columns  were  square  windows  in 
the  three  central  intercolumniations.  This  arrange- 
ment, however,  if  ancient  at  all,  does  not  go  back 
beyond  Roman  times ;  for  the  workmanship  of  the 
fallen  columns  that  stood  on  the  wall  is  evidently  a 
later  imitation,  similar  in  style  to  that  we  see  in  the 
temple  of  Rome  and  Augustus.  The  shape  of  these 
columns  is  peculiar;  they  are  adapted  to  being  built 
into  a  wall,  and  may  more  accurately  be  described  as 
attached  semi-columns,  set  against  square  pillars,  not 
unlike  what  we  see  in  the  proscenia  of  theatres.  This 
form  had  not  yet  been  developed  at  the  time  when  the 
Erechtheum  was  built ;  and  it  is  probable  that  the 
columns  set  up  on  the  wall,  which  preceded  these 
Roman  substitutes,  and  are  mentioned  in  the  inventory 
of  409  b.c,  were  complete  columns  of  the  usual  form. 
The  construction  of  the  south-west  corner  of  the 
temple  is  peculiar;  on  the  southern  side  of  this  corner 
is  the  Caryatid  portico,  which  is  called  in  the  inven- 
tory -f)  irpocrTacTLS  r)  7rpo<?  rw  KeKponico,1  "the  portico  in 
front  of  the  Cecropium."  This  portico  is  built  on  the 
foundations  of  the  peristyle  of  the  Old  Temple;  and 
there  is  in  the  west  wall  of    the    Erechtheum    a    huge 

1  The  dative  with  -rrpbs  here  implies  that  the  Cecropium  was  within  the  temple. 
In  similar  expressions,  when  the  allusion  is  to  something  outside,  the  genitive  is 
used;  eg.  6  wpbs  rod  Uavbcoaclov  ro?xos  or  der6s,  ''the  wall  or  pediment  turned 
toward  the  Pandroseum."  But  the  usage  cannot  he  pressed  too  strictly ;  for  this 
irner  is  also  called  it]  yuivla  17  irpbs  tov  KeKponiov,  and  the  portico  in  front  of 
the  great  door  is  called  tj  irpdaraffis  r\  irpbs  rod  Ovpwp.aros. 


-      r  a 


?  J." 


THE  ERECHTHEUM  AND  TEMPLE  OF   VICTORY     361 

block  of  marble,  —  the  largest  in  the  whole  building, 
—  one  end  of  which  rests  on  this  same  foundation. 
Beneath  the  middle  of  this  block  there  is  a  vacant 
space,  now  partly  filled  by  a  rough  pillar  recently  con- 
structed to  support  it  where  it  is  cracked.  The  pur- 
pose of  this  arrangement  must  have  been  to  support 
the  weight  of  the  south-west  corner  of  the  Erechtheum 
without  disturbing  some  object  below  it  that  had  to 
be  respected ;  and  the  inventory  shows  us  that  this 
object  was  the  Cecropium  —  probably  a  small  vaulted 
tomb  of  primitive  structure,  which  has  now  completely 
disappeared.  In  the  upper  part  of  this  same  corner 
there  is  a  curious  recess  in  the  south  wall,  perhaps 
indicating  a  gallery  at  this  level,  and  some  indica- 
tion that  there  was  a  door,  at  the  same  high  level, 
through  the  most  southerly  intercolumniation  of  the 
west  wall;  this  would  presumably  have  led  on  to  the 
roof  of  a  portico  bordering  the  Pandroseum  on  its 
south  side.  This  is  practically  all  the  evidence  that 
can  be  gathered  from  the  building  in  its  present  state 
as  to  the  nature  and  purpose  of  its  different  parts. 
We  may  gather  something  more  from  the  inventory 
of  the  finished  and  unfinished  portions  of  the  building 
in  409  B.C.,  and  from  the  accounts  of  the  continuation 
of  the  work  in  the  following  years  ;  but  these  descrip- 
tions are  intended  to  assist  the  commissioners  in  the 
identification  of  the  various  blocks,  not  to  state  the 
purpose  of  different  parts  of  the  building,  and  con- 
sequently   are    not    so    instructive,    from    this    point    of 


362  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

view,  as  we  might  have  hoped.  Almost  the  only 
object  of  any  importance  that  they  mention,  and  that 
is  not  otherwise  known  to  ns,  is  the  altar  of  the  fH)vrjxooq 
in  the  north  portico.  Pausanias,  on  the  other  hand, 
mentions  a  good  many  things  he  saw  in  the  temple. 
He  appears  to  have  entered  the  building  by  the  north 
portico  and  the  great  door,  and  he  saw  within  —  that 
is  to  say,  in  the  west  corridor  —  three  altars,  one  of 
Posidon,  on  which  they  also  sacrificed  to  Erechtheus 
by  command  of  the  oracle,  one  of  the  hero  Butes,  and 
one  of  Hephaestus ;  and  on  the  walls  were  paintings 
of  the  family  of  the  Butadae.  He  was  also  shown 
the  salt  spring  and  the  trident  mark.  Within  the 
temple  of  Athena  Polias,  which,  as  we  have  seen, 
probably  occupied  the  eastern  division  of  the  building, 
he  saw  not  only  the  ancient  image  said  to  have  fallen 
from  heaven,  but  also  the  lamp  made  by  Callimachus, 
which  had  a  palm  tree  as  its  chimney,  and  burnt  all 
the  year  with  one  filling  of  oil,  an  ancient  Hermes 
completely  covered  with  myrtle  boughs,  a  stool  made 
by  Daedalus,  and  some  Persian  spoils  from  the  battle 
of  Plataea,  the  breastplate  of  Masistius,  and  the  dag- 
ger of  Mardonius.  It  appears  from  the  order  of  his 
description  that  he  must  have  been  able  to  pass 
from  the  western  to  the  eastern  part  of  the  building 
without  going  outside.  Another  piece  of  topographi- 
cal evidence  in  this  connection  is  the  story  told  by 
Philochorus1    of    a    certain     dog,    which    "entered    the 

1  Apud  I  lionys.  Hal.  dt  Din.  1  5. 


THE   ERECHTHEUM  AND  TEMPLE   OF  VICTORY     3G3 

temple  of  Athena  Polias,  descended  into  the  Pandro- 
seum,  and  then  leapt  up  on  to  the  altar  of  Zeus  Her- 
keios  under  the  olive  tree  and  lay  down  there."  This 
beast  may  have  proceeded  by  the  gallery  and  door  of 
which  we  notice  some  indications  above  the  south- 
west corner  of  the   Erechtheum. 

The  information  derived  from  these  sources  is  not 
easy  to  interpret  and  to  piece  together;  and  certain 
things  about  the  building  —  especially  the  purpose 
and  arrangement  of  the  central  chamber — must  remain 
uncertain.  We  have  already  noticed  that  it  is  not 
easy  to  ascertain  whether  there  was  an  earlier  build- 
ing on  the  site  of  the  Erechtheum.  Perhaps,  in  view 
of  the  various  devices  we  have  noticed  for  including 
the  various  sacred  objects  that  existed  in  this  region, 
and  for  providing  communication  between  them,  it  is 
more  probable  that  these  objects  stood  originally  in  an 
open  precinct,  and  that  the  present  Erechtheum  was 
the  first  attempt  to  give  them  an  architectural  frame. 
It  is  possible,  moreover,  as  Professor  Furtwangler  sug- 
gests, that  the  internal  divisions  of  the  temple  may  also 
have  been  affected  by  the  necessity  for  providing  similar 
accommodation,  for  ritual  purposes,  to  that  which  had 
existed  in  the  old  Hecatompedon  or  Temple  of  Athena 
—  that  temple  in  which  Athena  had  placed  Erech- 
theus,  and  shared  her  worship  with  him,  or  where, 
according  to  another  version,  the  rival  cults  of  Athena 
and  Posidon  were  reconciled  with  a  single  building. 
It  is  certainly  a    curious    coincidence  that    'he    Erech- 


364  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

theum,  like  the  Old  Temple,  had  a  central  chamber, 
entered  from  the  west,  though  there  is  no  clear  evi- 
dence to  show  that  this  chamber  was  also  divided  into 
a  northern  and  southern  portion,  like  the  correspond- 
ing room  in  the  Old  Temple  ;  ^  and  when  we  consider 
how  much  modification  of  plan  the  western  part  of 
the  Erechtheum  has  undergone  to  fit  it  to  its  local 
surroundings,  it  would  be  rash  to  make  any  inferences 
on  this  matter.  It  seems  clear,  however,  from  the 
level,  that  the  central  chamber  forms  part  of  the  west- 
ern portion,  or  Erechtheum  proper,  rather  than  of  the 
eastern  portion,  or  temple  of  Athena  Polias. 

The  nomenclature  of  the  temple  is  rather  confusing ; 
its  official  title  in  the  inventory  is  6  vecos  kv  w.  to  dp^alou 
ayaXfjia,  "  the  temple  containing  the  ancient  image " ; 
and  the  names  Erechtheum  and  Temple  of  Athena 
Polias,  which  belong  properly  to  its  western  and  eastern 
portions  respectively,  are  each  of  them  sometimes,  in 
common  speech,  applied  to  the  whole  building,  just  as 
the  name  Parthenon  came  to  be  applied  to  the  whole 
temple  instead  of  to  its  western  chamber.  There  is  no 
need  to  let  this  apparent  confusion  affect  our  notion  of 
the  purpose  and  use  of  the  building.  The  eastern  cella, 
or  temple  of  Athena  Polias,  was  built  to  house  the  ancient 
image  fallen  from  heaven,  which  had  once  been  set  up  in 
the  Old  Temple,  which  Phidias  had  perhaps  intended  to 
transfer  to  the  Parthenon,  and  which  finally,  under  more 

1  The  words  nf  Pausanias,  8nr\odv  yap  4<rri  t6  oiK-r^j-a,  do  not,  iii  their  context,  sug- 
gest this  meaning. 


THE  ERECHTHEUM  AND  TEMPLE  OF  VICTORY     365 

conservative  influences,  found  a  home  almost  on  the  same 
spot  where  it  had  always  been  worshipped.  This  image 
was  the  centre  of  all  the  most  sacred  and  ancient 
religious  rites  of  the  Athenian  state.  For  it  the  peplos 
was  woven  to  be  presented  at  the  Panathenaic  festival  ; 
and  it  was  taken  in  solemn  procession  to  be  dipped  in 
the  sea  at  the  Plynteria.  The  priestess  of  Athena  was 
especially  concerned  with  the  worship  in  this  temple,  and 
close  to  it  were  the  rooms  where  the  epyaarl -at  wove 
the  peplos  under  her  direction,  and  where  the  two 
Arrhephoric  maidens  lived  for  their  year  of  service  before 
they  went  on  their  mysterious  errand  to  carry  to  the 
cleft  in  the  earth,  near  the  gardens,  the  box  which  they 
might  not  open.  In  the  Pandroseum,  too,  which  may 
have  had  some  direct  communication  with  the  temple 
of  Athena,  perhaps  by  a  gallery  along  the  south  wall  of 
the  Erechtheum,  was  the  sacred  olive  tree  of  Athena,  and 
beneath  this  was  the  altar  of  Zeus  Herkeios,  probably 
representing  the  original  altar  in  the  court  of  the  house 
of  Erechtheus,  which  was  identical  with  the  earliest 
temple  of  Athena.  The  rest  of  the  temple,  the  Erech- 
theum proper,  was  given  up  to  the  worship  which  was 
here  associated  with  that  of  Athena ;  her  rival,  Posidon, 
is  here  identified  with  her  favoured  hero,  Erechtheus, 
an  identification  expressly  ratified  by  the  oracle  which 
ordered  that  sacrifice  should  be  offered  to  both  upon  the 
same  altar.  The  priest  attached  to  this  cult  was  one  of 
the  descendants  of  the  hero  Butes,  the  Butadae  or  Eteo- 
butadae,  whose  paintings  were  seen  in  this  part  of  the 


:66 


ANCIENT  ATHENS 


temple  by  Pausanias.  The  close  association  of  this  cult 
with  the  sacred  olive  is  attested  by  the  fact  that  when 
the  Epidaurians  requested  from  Athens  some  wood 
from  the  olive  tree  to  make  statues  of  in  accordance 
with  an  oracle,  it  was  granted  on  condition  of  their 
offering-  an  annual  sacrifice  to  Athena  Polias  and  to 
Erechtheus.  We  have  already  noticed  the  arrange- 
ments in  this   part  of   the    Erechtheum  for  the  preser- 


ll 

I 

.1 

1 

V' 

Part  of  North  Portico  of  Erechtheum. 

vation  and  exhibition  of  the  trident  mark  and  of  the 
salt  pool.  It  is  said  that  the  guardian  snake  of  the 
Acropolis,  sometimes  supposed  to  represent  Erichthonius, 
also  had  its  quarters  here.  The  Erechtheum,  in  fact, 
was  a  visible  symbol  of  the  reconciliation  of  the  rival 
cults,  and  contained  a  recognition  of  all  their  essential 
features,  while  the  Parthenon,  by  its  sole  dedication  to 
Athena  and  its  express  declaration  of  her  victory,  tended, 
perhaps  too  much  for  the  orthodox  and  conservative 
religion  of  the  day,  to  subordinate  all  other  cults  to  hers. 


THE  ERECHTHEUM  AND  TEMPLE  OF  VICTORY     367 


The  two   buildings  supplement  each  other  as  much   in 
their  religious  significance  as  in  their  architectural  types. 

The  Erech- 
theum,  as  has 
already  been 
said,  may  be 
taken  as  a  rep- 
resentative of 
the  most  re- 
fined form  of 
Ionic  architec- 
ture. The  order 
differs  in  several 


Capital  of  Column,  North  Portico  of  Erechtheum. 


respects  both  from  the  pure  Ionic  form,  as  we  see  it  in 
Asia    Minor,    and    from    the    later    conventional    Ionic. 

It  is  also  dif- 
ferent from  the 
simpler  kind 
of  Ionic  which 
we  see  in  the 
Propylaea  and 
in  the  temple 
of  Nike.  The 
entablature 
consists  of  an 
architrave  sur- 
mounted by  a 
richly  decorated  moulding,  and  divided  into  three  bands, 
each  slightly  projecting  beyond  the  other;   a  frieze  of 


Base  of  Column,  North  Tortico  of  Erechtheum. 

Behind  it,  wall  showing  base  moulding. 


368 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


black  Eleusinian  stone,  which  served  as  the  background 
to  a  set  of  white  marble  figures  in  relief,  to  which  we  must 
later  recur ;  and  an  ornamental  cornice :  but  the  dentils, 
which  are  often  considered  as  characteristic  of  the  Ionic 
entablature,  are  here  entirely  absent.  The  capital  has  a 
deep  and  delicately  profiled  groove,  subdividing  the  broad 
channel  between  the  volutes  into  two  approximately 
equal  portions  ;  this  groove,  which  has  a  curve  intermedi- 
ate between  the  flattened  top  of  the  channel  and  the  deep 
bend  of  its  lower  boundary,  runs  round  the  two  volutes 

J  ^  also;    and,    as 

the  space  be- 
low the  curved 
boundary  of 
the  channel  is 
also  continued 
into  the  vo- 
lutes, these 
really  consist 
of    three    spi- 

IIami  of  Carving,  from  Top  of  Wall  of  Erechtheum.  i— iI^  wound  to- 
gether. Into  the  innermost  of  the  three  was  fixed  a 
bronze  spiral,  which  terminated  in  the  angle  between 
channel  and  volute,  on  each  side  of  the  capital,  in  a 
bronze  palmette;  a  painted  or  carved  palmetto  often 
appears  in  this  position  on  less  ornate  capitals.  The 
centres  of  the  volutes  also  had  metal  ornaments,  prob- 
ably of  bronze  gilt.  Above  the  egg  and  dart  moulding 
which    usually    crowns    the    shaft    of   an    Ionic   column 


THE   ERECHTHEUM  AND  TEMPLE  OF  VICTORY     369 

between  the  volutes,  the  Erechtheum  columns  have- 
also  a  round  torus  ornamented  with  a  rich  plait ;  in 
the  north  portico,  which  is  the  most  ornate  part  of  the 
building,  this  plait  is  pierced  in  its  interstices  with  holes 
for  the  insertion  of  a  bright  enamel.  Beneath  the  capital 
the  Ionic  flutings,  with  the  flat  fillets  between  them,  do 
not  begin  immediately ; 
but  above  them  is  a 
band  of  flat  relief,  with 
one  of  those  beautiful 
palmette  and  flower 
patterns  that  occur  on 
various  parts  of  the 
temple.  The  base  con- 
sists only  of  an  upper 
and  lower  torus  sepa- 
rated by  a  deeply 
curved  groove ;  there  is 
no  square  plinth  below 

it.       In    the    columns    of  "Caryatids"  of  Erechtheum. 

the  eastern  front  the  upper  torus  is  simply  reeded;  but 
in  the  north  portico  it  has  a  rich  plait  pattern  like  that 
round  the  head  of  the  shaft,  also  diversified,  in  some 
cases,  by  holes  for  the  insertion  of  enamel.  The 
walls  were  treated  externally  in  much  the  same  man- 
ner as  the  columns  and  ants ;  above  the  highest  of 
the  three  steps,  all  around  the  building,  is  a  base  mould- 
ing similar  to  the  bases  of  the  columns ;  and  the  wall 
is    crowned    by  a    band    of    palmettes   and   flowers  like 


2  B 


370  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

those  round  the  necks  of  the  columns,  carved  with  a 
crispness  and  delicacy  that  have  never  been  surpassed. 
The  southern  or  "  Caryatid "  portico  has  an  especial 
design  suited  to  the  nature  of  its  supports.  The  entab- 
lature carried  by  the  maidens  is  lightened  by  the  omission 
of  the  frieze,  though,  as  some  compensation,  the  upper- 
most of  its  three  bands  is  decorated  with  a  row  of  discs. 
The  six  figures  stand,  four  in  front  and  one  behind  at  each 
side,  upon  a  low  marble  wall,  not  broken  by  a  door  (the 
entrance  is  concealed  at  the  side) ;  and  they  are  so  disposed 
as  to  give  the  utmost  appearance  of  rest  and  stability ;  each 
rests  her  weight  on  the  outer  leg;  and  thus,  together 
with  an  appearance  of  ease  and  absence  of  strain,  there 
is,  so  to  speak,  a  centripetal  effect  similar  to  that  gained 
by  the  slight  inward  inclination  of  the  outer  columns 
of  a  Doric  temple ;  one  has  only  to  imagine  the  position 
of  the  figures  on  either  side  of  the  centre  interchanged, 
to  realise  how  disquieting  to  the  eye  any  other  arrange- 
ment would  be.  The  maidens  are  clothed  in  full  and 
rich  drapery,  like  that  of  the  Athenian  maidens  on  the 
Panathenaic  frieze,  with  cloaks  hanging  from  their  shoul- 
ders, and  their  hair  is  arranged  in  solid  plaits  beside  their 
necks,  so  as  to  increase  their  apparent  strength  as 
architectural  supports. 

The  Erechtheum  had,  as  we  have  seen,  several  doors; ' 

1  Fragments  of  the  ornamental  moulding  of  another  door,  similar  in  character  to 
the  great  one,  are  preserved;  these  have  usually  been  attributed  to  the  cast  door. 
I  >r.  Middleton  restores  them  as  belonging  to  the  small  west  door  into  the  Pandroseum. 
See  Schultz,  /.U.S.  XII.  i.  Even  if  we  rejecl  Mr.  Schultz's  theory  as  to  the  jambs, 
the  ■  .idencc  he  points  out  of  the  lintel  and  cornice  being  replaced  is  indisputable. 


THE   ERECHTHEUM  AND  TEMPLE  OF  VICTORY     371 

the  one  which  was  distinguished  by  the  especial  name  of 
to  dvpcofxa  was  the  door  in  the  north  portico,  which  is 
happily  still  standing,  though  in  a  much  damaged  condi- 
tion. Its  great  lintel  is  broken,  and  supported  by  an 
interior  lintel  and  jambs  of  Christian  date  ;  and  even  this 
great  lintel  and  the  cornice  above  it,  though  of  Greek 
workmanship,  have  a  carved  ornament  different  in  style 
from  that  on  the  original  jambs  and  on  the  walls,  and 
are  evidently  due  to  a  repair,  possibly  necessitated  by  the 
fire  of  406  B.C.;  the  original  lintel,  of  which  the  ends  still 
remain,  was  of  the  height  of  two  ordinary  courses,  and 
rested  on  the  wall  on  either  side.  Yet,  allowing  for  these 
repairs,  the  doorway  remains,  as  an  architectural  model, 
the  most  perfect  that  is  known  to  us  from  classical  times, 
as  well  as  the  earliest  elaborate  marble  doorway  that  we 
possess  —  for  it  will  be  remembered  that  the  Parthenon 
and  the  Propylaea  had  their  great  doors  bordered  with 
wooden  jambs.  The  wonderfully  delicate  row  of  carving 
that  surrounds  the  door,  the  rosettes  on  the  outer  band, 
their  centres  filled  with  gilt  bronze  knobs,  the  console 
(one  only  is  left),  and  the  cornice  even  in  its  present 
state,  combine  to  give  a  harmony  and  richness  of  effect 
that  may  be  all  the  better  appreciated  for  a  comparison 
of  the  original  with  the  countless  imitations  of  it  that 
may  be  seen  in  classical  and  modern  work.  On  every 
part  of  this  exquisite  little  temple  there  has  been 
lavished  a  profusion  of  ornament,  a  richness  of  carving 
and  inlaying,  that,  in  any  other  time  or  place,  might 
well   have   been   bewildering   or  even   surfeiting   to   the 


372  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

eye.  It  is  the  peculiar  excellence  of  the  Attic  artists 
of  the  fifth  century  that  they  could  not  only  produce  the 
simple  and  severe  perfection  of  the  Parthenon,  but  also 
combine  the  rich  ornamentation  of  the  Erechtheum  with 
so  great  a  purity  and  distinction  of  workmanship. 

The  frieze  of  the  Erechtheum  calls  for  more  detailed 
attention  because  of  its  peculiar  technique.  Earlier 
friezes  —  including  that  of  the  Parthenon  —  had  had 
their  backgrounds  painted  with  a  dark  colour,  usually 
blue,  against  which  the  figures  stood  out  distinctly. 
A  different  technique  was  suggested  by  the  basis 
of  the  statue  of  the  Olympian  Zeus,  on  which  the 
figures  of  gold  and  ivory  were  attached  to  a  back- 
ground of  black  Eleusinian  stone.  In  the  Erechtheum 
the  frieze  was  made  of  this  same  black  stone,  and  on 
its  slabs  may  still  be  seen  the  clamps  and  clamp-holes 
by  which  the  figures,  in  this  case  of  white  Pentelic 
marble,  were  attached  to  the  background.  Some  of 
the  figures  themselves  are  preserved ;  they  are  in  mod- 
erately high  relief.  The  extant  figures,  and  the  indica- 
tions of  their  position  on  the  ground  of  the  frieze,  have 
not,  however,  sufficed  to  indicate  either  the  subject 
represented  or  the  nature  of  the  composition.  This 
frieze  has  an  additional  interest  from  the  fact  that 
we  still  possess,  on  one  of  the  inscriptions  relating  to 
the  building  of  the  temple,  a  record  of  the  various 
sums  paid  to  workmen  for  carving  the  various  figures 
<>f   which  it  was  composed.1 

1  See  p.  342. 


THE  ERECHTHEUM   AND  TEMPLE  OF   VIC  TOR  V     373 

The  little  temple  of  Victory,  or  rather  of  Athena  Nike, 
has  undergone  vicissitudes  even  stranger  than  the  larger 
buildings  on  the  Acropolis.  We  have  already  noticed 
that  the  decree  which  ordered  it  to  be  built  was  one 
of  the  earliest  measures  passed  during  the  predominance 
of  Pericles,  but  that  its  completion  was  delayed,  for 
some  reason  which  is  not  recorded,  until  a  later  date  — 


Temple  of  Athena  Nike  from  the  North-east. 

how  much  later,  we  can  only  judge  from  the  style  of 
the  sculpture  that  decorated  it.  Once  completed,  it 
appears  to  have  stood  intact  until  comparatively  modern 
times,  and  it  was  seen  and  admired  by  early  travellers, 
such  as  Wheler.  So  it  remained  until  1687,  when 
Athens  was  threatened  by  Morosini's  attack,  which 
ended  so  disastrously  for  the  Parthenon  ;  and  the  Turks, 
in  order  to  strengthen  the  defences   of   the   Acropolis, 


374  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

erected  a  new  bastion,  which  they  constructed  in  part 
out  of  the  material  of  the  temple  of  Nike,  which  they 
pulled  down  for  the  purpose.  The  appearance  of  the 
west  front  of  the  Propylaea,  with  a  vacant  space  where 
the  temple  stood,  is  shown  in  Stuart's  drawing.1  Lord 
Elgin  found  some  slabs  of  the  frieze  built  into  late 
walls,  and  carried  them  to  England,  where  they  may 
now  be  seen  in  the  British  Museum ;  but  the  whole  of 
the  temple  was  not  recovered  until  the  bastion  erected 
in  1687  was  pulled  down  in  1835-36.  The  temple 
was  found  to  be  practically  complete ;  and  Ross,  who 
was  then  Director  of  Antiquities  in  Greece,  decided 
to  rebuild  it  upon  its  original  foundations ;  this  he  did, 
and  the  temple,  as  restored,  has  again  become  a  familiar 
feature  in  the  view  of  the  Acropolis.  From  a  distance 
its  effect  is  much  what  it  always  was;  but  it  was  of 
course  impossible  to  put  together  the  old  stones  of  the 
temple  with  the  precision  that  distinguishes  fifth-century 
architecture,  and  consequently,  on  a  near  view,  the  im- 
pression produced  is  rather  irregular  and  unsatisfactory. 
The  pieces  of  the  frieze  taken  to  London  have  been 
replaced  by  terra-cotta  casts,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
Erechtheum. 

The  temple  is  of  very  simple  plan,  consisting  merely 
of  a  small  oblong  cella,  facing  cast,  with  a  portico  of 
four  Ionic  columns  at  its  front  and  back.  It  is  raised 
on  two  steps,  of  which  the  lower  one,  at  the  west  end, 
is   aligned    with    the  west    wall    of    the   bastion   on  which 

1  Sec  p.  219. 


THE   ERECHTHEUM   AND  TEMI'EE   OF    VICTORY     375 


the  temple  is  placed;  it  is  set  in  the  north-west  corner 
of  this  bastion,  so  as  to  leave  a  triangular  space  between 
the  temple  and  the  north  edge  of  the  bastion,  and  a 
rectangular  space  on  the  south. 

The  Ionic  order,  as  seen  in  this  temple,  is  practically 
identical  with  that  of  the  Propylaea;  it  has  the  simple 
form  of  capital,  with  a  plain  channel  and  single  spiral  in 
the  volute,  and  with  the  fluting  of  the  columns  continu- 
ing right  up  to  the  capital.  The  sculptured  frieze  of  the 
order  has,  for  the  most  part,  been  preserved.     On  the 


Slab  of  South  Frieze  of  Temple  of  Nike. 
Greeks  and  Persians. 

east  front  is  an  assembly  of  the  gods,  some  seated,  some 
standing.  Athena,  and  probably  Zeus,  are  recognisable, 
but  the  figures  are  so  much  defaced  that  it  is  impossible 
to  identify  many  of  the  others.  On  the  north  and  south 
sides  were  represented  combats  between  Greeks  and 
Persians,  easily  distinguishable  by  their  muffled  heads 
and  the  drapery  swathed  round  their  limbs ;  on  the  west 
end  was  a  combat  between  Greeks  and  Greeks.  It  has 
been  suggested  with  much  probability  that  these  three 
scenes  are  to  be  taken  as  typical  and  commemorative  of 
the  three  great  battles  of  the  Persian  Wars,  Marathon 
and    Salamis,    in    which    the    Athenians    overcame    the 


376  ANCIENT  ATHENS 

Persians,  and  Plataea,  where  it  fell  to  the  lot  of  the 
Athenians  to  meet  the  Thebans,  then  fighting  on 
the  Persian  side.  In  the  earlier  days  of  the  Peloponnesian 
War  the  Athenians  would  probably  have  been  glad  of 
this  opportunity  to  record  the  national  apostasy  and 
disgrace  of  their  Theban  enemies.  If  this  explanation 
is  right,  each  side  of  the  temple  appropriately  faces  the 
direction  of  the  field  where  the  battle  it  records  was 
fought.  To  the  south,  from  the  Nike  bastion,  one 
looks  over  the  sea  and  Salamis ;  to  the  west  a  con- 
spicuous object  is  Cithaeron,  just  behind  which  lies 
Platasa;  and  to  the  north  is  the  pass  between  Pente- 
licus  and  Parnes,  by  which  the  Athenians  returned 
from  Marathon.  Thus  the  visible  objects  in  the  land- 
scape on  each  side  suggested  the  required  associations. 
The  style  of  the  sculpture  is,  as  has  been  said,  the 
chief  evidence  for  the  date  of  the  temple.  It  cannot 
possibly  be  so  early  as  450  B.C.,  the  latest  date  to  which 
the  inscription  can  be  assigned ;  indeed,  it  is  evidently 
later  than  the  sculptures  of  the  Parthenon  or  of  the 
Theseum.  There  is  a  freedom  and  ease,  both  in  the 
composition  of  the  groups  and  the  pose  of  the  indi- 
vidual figures,  which  can  belong  only  to  a  post-Phidian 
epoch;  but  at  the  same  time  there  is  a  certain  restraint 
and  moderation  in  the  use  of  this  freedom,  which  forbids 
us  to  assign  the  work  to  a  much  later  date.  Certain 
characteristics,  such  as  the  picturesqueness  of  effect  and 
the  flowing  sweep  of  line  in  some  of  the  groups,  suggest 
the  influence  of  painting,  such  as  might  well  be  attrib- 


THE   ERECHTHEUM  AND  TEMPLE  OF  VICTORY     377 

utcd  to  Polygnotus  and  his  scholars,  at  this  time  work- 
ing in  Athens;  but  it  is  not  likely  that  we  should  find 
this  influence  in  a  work  of  sculpture  earlier  than  the 
Parthenon:  had  sculptors  of  such  skill  as  is  shown  in 
this  frieze  already  existed  in  Athens,  it  is  hardly  con- 
ceivable that  such  men  as  made  the  metopes,  for  ex- 
ample, of  the  Parthenon  and  the  Theseum  should  still 
have  been  employed  on  the  chief  buildings.  Though  their 
originality  and  vigour  are,  perhaps,  greater  than  we  find 
in  the  sculptors  of  the  Nike  frieze,  their  employment 
instead  of  those  sculptors  would  have  been  an  archaistic 
anachronism  such  as  the  Athenians  of  Pericles'  time 
would  not  have  tolerated. 

Another  well-known  series  of  sculptures  that  is  asso- 
ciated with  the  temple  of  Athena  Nike  is  the  frieze 
ornamenting  the  balustrade  or  parapet  that  was  placed 
around  the  bastion  or  precinct  on  which  the  temple 
stood.  This  precinct  was  of  an  irregular  shape ;  the 
balustrade  began  beside  the  little  staircase  leading  up 
from  the  space  before  the  Propylasa,  and  extended  along 
the  north,  west,  and  south  sides  of  the  bastion,  where 
traces  of  its  fixing  can  still  be  seen ;  its  slabs  have  been 
removed  to  the  Acropolis  Museum.  The  reliefs  which 
decorated  it  were  placed  upon  the  outside,  so  that  some 
of  them  were  only  visible  at  some  considerable  distance 
from  below.  The  slabs  of  relief  are  about  one  metre 
in  height ;  they  were  surmounted  by  a  bronze  railing  of 
which  the  traces  are  still  visible  on  the  slabs.  The  subject 
of  the  frieze  is  a  series  of  acts  of  worship  performed  in 


378  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

honour  of  Athena  —  who  is  present  on  each  side  —  by  a 
number  of  winged  Victories  ;  some  lead  a  cow  to  sacrifice, 
others  deck  trophies  or  bring  the  spoils  of  the  vanquished. 
But  the  theme  is  used  by  the  sculptor  as  an  opportunity 
for  the  display  of  a  number  of  beautiful  female  figures, 


By  permission  of  Messrs   A.  W.  Mansell  &  Sons. 

Slab  from  Balustrade  of  Temple  of  Nike. 
Two  Victories  and  a  cow. 

in  varied  and  graceful  action,  their  forms  set  oft  by 
drapery  that  clings,  as  if  wet  and  transparent,  to  their 
body  and  limbs,  or  is  swept  by  their  motion  into  richly 
curving  folds.  It  is  impossible  not  to  admire  the  skill 
of  the  artist  and  the  beauty  of  the  effect  which  he  has 
attained;  but  the  mere  fact  that  he  has  aimed  at  such 


THE   ERECHTHEUM  AND  TEMPLE  OF  VICTORY     379 

an  effect  contrasts  with  the  directness  and  simplicity  of 
work  that  mark  the  sculptures  of  the  Phidian  age.  It 
seems  as  if  the  Attic  sculptors,  left  to  their  own  devices, 
were  again  affect- 
ing a  delicate  treat- 
ment of  drapery 
analogous  to  the 
mannerism  that  we 
noticed  in  their 
work  before  the  ro- 
buster  influences 
that  came  in  with 
the  Persian  Wars. 
We  have  only  to 
compare  the  two 
Victories  leading  a 
cow  to  sacrifice 
with  the  slab  in  the 
Parthenon  frieze 
representing  an  al- 
most identical  sub- 
ject, to  feel  what  a 
great  gulf  is  fixed 
between  the  two. 
Yet  the  sculpture  of  the  balustrade  is  admirable  in 
its  kind,  and  it  would  be  unfair  to  attribute  to  it  the 
rather  frigid  mannerisms  that  mar  the  delicacy  and 
prettiness  of  the  sculptures  of  the  Nereid  Monument 
at    Xanthus,    of    the  Neo-Attic    Reliefs,  and    of    count- 


Slab  from  Balustrade  of  Temple  of  Nike. 
Victory  loosing  her  sandal. 


38o  ANCIENT  ATHENS 

less  other  imitations,  ancient  and  modern,  that  are 
ultimately  derived  from  this  same  frieze  of  winged 
Victories.  As  a  work  of  decorative  relief,  rich  in  flow- 
ing line  and  varied  waves  of  drapery  and  beauty  of 
body  and  limb  that  glow  "  through  the  veil  that  seems 
to  hide  them,"  the  Nike  balustrade  holds  an  unrivalled 
place ;  and  if,  on  the  one  hand,  it  stands  at  the  head 
of  a  series  of  imitations  that  are  already  on  the  way 
to  decadence,  yet,  in  the  purity  and  dignity  of  its  types, 
and  the  absence  of  confusion  or  over-elaboration  in 
its  detail,  it  preserves  the  high  traditions  of  the  fifth 
century. 


CHAPTER    IX 

THE  CITY  IN  THE  FIFTH  AND  FOURTH  CENTURIES 

In  comparison  with  the  fairly  complete  notion  which 
we  can  obtain  of  the  appearance  of  the  Acropolis  in 
the  fifth  and  fourth  centuries,  our  knowledge  of  the 
lower  city  is  very  meagre.  This  is  partly,  no  doubt, 
because  the  architectural  activity  that  distinguished  the 
time  of  Cimon  and  Pericles  was  mainly  concentrated  on 
the  adornment  of  the  sacred  citadel ;  but  it  is  partly  also 
due  to  the  fact  that,  while  the  Acropolis  has  been  com- 
pletely excavated  and  now  stands  clear  of  all  later  struc- 
tures, the  site  of  the  Agora  and  many  of  the  more 
important  buildings  below  lies  in  the  region  that  has 
always  been  occupied;  it  is  indeed  still  covered  by  the 
small  houses  and  streets  that  survive,  even  in  modern 
Athens,  as  a  heritage  of  Turkish  times.  It  is  greatly 
to  be  regretted,  from  the  archaeological  point  of  view, 
that  Ross's  bold  and  far-seeing  plan  to  clear  away  all 
these  small  streets  and  houses,  and  to  build  the  new  city 
entirely  in  the  district  now  occupied  by  the  broad  streets 
of  the  modern  quarters,  was  never  carried  out.  There 
would  indeed  have  been  some  loss  of  the  picturesque 
effect ;  but  the  bazaars  and  other  characteristic  features 

381 


382  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

of  Turkish  Athens  seem  in  any  case  doomed  to  disap- 
pearance ;  and  in  their  place  we  might  have  had  the 
excavated  area  of  the  most  central  districts  of  the  ancient 
city.  It  must  be  admitted  that,  wherever  excavation 
in  this  region  has  been  possible,  it  has  not  led  to  any 
very  satisfactory  results  ;  the  continued  occupation  seems 
here,  as  is  often  the  case,  to  have  led  to  the  almost  com- 
plete obliteration  of  ancient  monuments ;  but  such  par- 
tial excavations  are  always  a  lottery,  and  indications  of 
great  topographical  importance  may  well  lie  hidden 
within  a  few  feet  of  an  unsuccessful  trial-pit.  The 
Theseum,  the  Theatre,  and  the  Choragic  Monument  of 
Lysicrates  are  practically  the  only  monuments  of  the 
fifth  or  fourth  century  that  still  remain  visible  above 
ground. 

When  the  Athenians  returned  to  their  city  after  it 
had  been  sacked  by  the  Persians,  they  found,  as  Thu- 
cydides  tells  us,  only  some  parts  of  the  wall  left  and 
most  of  the  houses  fallen  ;  only  a  few  survived,  in  which 
the  Persian  leaders  had  taken  up  their  quarters.  The 
first  care  of  the  Athenians  on  returning  was  to  rebuild 
their  walls;  and  when  even  this  essential  matter  was 
carried  out  in  a  rough-and-ready  way,  by  making  use 
of  any  available  material,  it  is  not  likely  that  much 
trouble  was  bestowed  either  on  private  houses  or  public 
buildings;  the  Athenians  probably  contented  themselves 
with  provisional  restorations  to  meet  their  practical 
needs.  As  soon  as  they  had  leisure  to  restore  or  replace 
in  a  permanent  form  what  the    Persians  had  destroyed, 


THE    CITY    IN    FIFTH   AND    FOURTH    CENTURIES     383 

they  turned,  as  we  have  seen,  to  the  building  of  the  new- 
temple  of  Athena  on  the  Acropolis ;  but,  so  long  at 
least  as  the  influence  of  Themistocles  was  predominant, 
it  was  unlikely  that  the  public  buildings  in  the  lower 
town  would  be  sumptuously  rebuilt.  Such  a  measure 
would  have  been  inconsistent  with  his  project  of  remov- 
ing the  town  bodily  to  the  Piraeus ;  if  this  project  had 
been  carried  out,  the  Acropolis  would  have  remained 
as  the  old  sacred  precinct,  like  the  Heraeum  of  Argos, 
some  distance  away  from  the  inhabited  city.  Many 
porticoes,  temples,  and  other  buildings,  some  of  them 
with  paintings  referring  to  the  Persian  Wars,  were  built 
around  the  Agora  or  elsewhere  about  this  time ;  but 
they  must  in  all  probability  be  referred  to  the  adminis- 
tration of  Cimon,  after  the  projects  of  Themistocles  had 
been  discredited  with  his  disgrace  and  exile  in  472  b.c. 
We  have  already  noticed  the  works  undertaken  by 
Cimon  on  the  Acropolis  between  his  crowning  victory 
over  the  Persians  at  the  Eurymedon  in  468  b.c.  and  his 
ostracism  in  461  b.c,  and  also  his  design  and  partial 
completion  of  the  Long  Walls  between  Athens  and  the 
Piraeus.  The  chief  buildings  of  the  lower  town  must 
probably  be  assigned  to  this  same  period.  It  has  been 
conjectured  with  great  probability  that  during  his  cam- 
paigns on  the  coast  of  Asia  Minor  he  had  fallen  under 
the  influence  of  the  Ionian  culture  and  artistic  ten- 
dencies ;  and  that  when  he  had  an  opportunity  for  beau- 
tifying Athens  with  new  buildings,  he  summoned  artists 
from   Ionia   to  his  assistance  —  chief    among  them   the 


3S4  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

painter  Polygnotus,  whose  work,  or  that  of  his  assistants 
and  pupils,  was  to  be  seen  in  many  of  the  buildings 
that  may  be  attributed  to  Cimon,  and  whose  influence  on 
the  art  of  Greece  in  the  period  succeeding  the  Persian 
Wars  it  would  not  be  easy  to  overrate.  In  sending  for 
Ionian  artists,  Cimon  was  in  some  respects  merely  fol- 
lowing the  example  of  Themistocles,  who  had  employed 
the  Milesian  architect  Hippodamus  to  lay  out  the  new 
plan  of  the  Piraeus,  after  the  sumptuous  and  regular  style 
customary  in  the  great  Ionian  cities.  But  in  Athens 
itself  there  was  probably  no  scope  for  so  complete  an 
innovation ;  the  older  buildings  around  the  Agora  were 
already  associated  with  their  sites  by  a  long  tradition, 
and  the  new  porticoes  and  temples  that  were  built  by 
Cimon  consequently  had  to  be  adapted  in  plan  and 
position  to  conditions  already  pretty  rigidly  prescribed. 
The  only  region  where  much  freedom  was  possible  was 
in  the  approach  leading  to  the  Agora  from  the  Dipylon 
Gate ;  and  here  the  broad  and  gently  sloping  Dromos, 
bordered  on  either  hand  by  the  Long  Porticoes,  may 
probably  be  ascribed  to  Cimon's  design.  We  possess, 
unfortunately,  no  certain  remains  or  record  of  any  of  the 
buildings  erected  by  Cimon  in  the  lower  city,  unless 
the  beautiful  little  Ionic  temple  near  the  Ilissus,  drawn 
by  Stuart,  but  now  entirely  destroyed,  be  attributed  to 
his  time.  Stuart  gives  both  a  picturesque  view  of  this 
temple  as  he  saw  it,  and  also  an  architectural  restoration 
and  drawings  of  its  details.  Its  chief  peculiarity  lies  in 
the  fact  that,  while  otherwise  resembling  the  temple  of 


THE   CITY    IN    FIFTH   AND    FOURTH   CENTURIES     385 

Nike,  it  has  a  plain  architrave  in  place  of  the  triple  one 
usually  belonging  to  the  Ionic  order,  —  perhaps  an  Attic 
experiment  that  was  not  repeated.  The  temple,  which 
stood  on  a  site  between  the  Stadium  and  Callirrhoe, 
close  to  the  Ilissus,  has  been  variously  identified  as  the 
temple  of  Demeter  or  of  Triptolemus  in  Agrse,  or  as  the 
temple  of  Artemis  Agrotera.  The  latter  identification  fits 
the  period,  since  this  goddess  was  associated  with  the 
victory  of  Marathon,  and  received  an  annual  sacrifice 
of  five  hundred  goats  in  commemoration  of  it ;  but  it  is 
probable  enough  that  a  small  temple  such  as  this  may 
not  be  among  those  recorded  by  ancient  writers.  Another 
temple,  said  to  have  been  dedicated  from  the  spoils  of 
the  Persians  at  Marathon,  was  that  of  Eucleia,  probably 
an  epithet  of  Artemis ;  but  whether  this  is  to  be  looked 
for  by  the  Ilissus  or  not  depends  on  the  interpretation  of 
Pausanias,  since  it  is  mentioned  as  near  Enneacrunus. 
The  name  Eucleia,  in  itself,  is  more  suitable  to  a  temple 
near  the  Agora,  as  is  shown  by  the  analogy  of  similar 
dedications  in  Boeotia.  If  we  could  be  certain  of  the 
identification  and  the  date  of  this  Ionic  temple  by  the 
Ilissus,  it  might  be  valuable  as  the  earliest  temple  of 
the  Ionic  order  known  to  us  in  Athens.1  Apart  from  it, 
the  earliest  of  which  we  know  the  erection  to  have  been 
ordered  is  the  temple  of  Nike,  designed  by  Callicrates, 
who  served  as  city  architect  under  Cimon  and  built  the 
Long  Walls.     It  is  probable  that  the  same   Ionic  order 

1  Unless   we   accept  Mr.    Penrose's   restoration  of  the   early  temple  of  Athena. 
See  J.  H.  S.  XII.  275. 

2C 


3S6  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

may  have  been  used  in  some  of  Cimon's  porticoes,  at 
least,  as  in  the  Propylaea,  for  the  internal  columns.  Ex- 
cept in  the  case  of  these  porticoes  or  other  buildings 
which  can  be  dated  by  the  paintings  with  which  they  were 
decorated,  we  have  no  certain  criteria  to  prove  which  of 
them  were  built  by  Cimon.  All  we  can  assert  is  that  it 
seems  improbable  that  they  were  erected  before  his  time, 
and  that  they  are  often  referred  to  as  already  existing,  in 
some  cases  as  places  of  traditional  respect,  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  fifth  or  in  the  fourth  century  B.C.  If  it  is 
convenient  to  group  them  all  together  here,  it  must  be 
understood  that  there  is  no  clear  evidence  that  they  are 
all  contemporary.  All  that  is  certain  is  that  they  existed, 
as  described  here,  at  least  during  the  later  part  of  the 
period  with  which  we  are  concerned  in  the  present 
chapter. 

Perhaps  there  is  no  building  of  equal  historical  and 
artistic  importance  of  which  so  little  is  known  as  the 
Stoa  Basileios  or  King's  Portico.  It  was  the  office  of 
the  magistrate  called  the  king,  and  therefore  the  scene  of 
Plato's  Euthyphro,  the  first  act  of  the  drama  of  the  Trial 
and  Death  of  Socrates.  In  later  times  it  was  the  place 
where  the  Court  of  Areopagus  sat ;  in  it  or  before  it 
were  set  up  the  tablets  of  the  laws,  and  here,  too,  was  the 
stone  of  sacrifice  on  which  the  archons  took  their  oath. 
The  Stoa  Basileios  is  also  conjectured,  by  some  authori- 
ties, to  have  given  its  form  as  well  as  its  name  to  the 
Basilica,  and  so  to  the  Christian  church.  It  was  the  first 
building  on  the  western  side  of  the  Agora,  seen  by  one 


THE   CITY    IN    FIFTH   AND    FOURTH    CENTURIES     387 

approaching  from  the  Dipylon  Gate,  and  therefore  it  mus' 
have  stood  just  at  the  foot  of  the  little  mound  on  which 
the  Theseum  is  situated.  Some  early  foundations  found 
beneath  modern  houses  at  this  point  were  identified, 
when  they  were  first  discovered,  as  probably  forming  part 
of  the  Stoa  Basileios ;  but  on  being  more  completely 
cleared,  they  proved  to  belong  to  a  plan  resembling 
that  of  a  temple ;  and  so  the  identification  cannot  be 
considered  probable.1  Presumably  the  Stoa  Basileios, 
like  most  other  porticoes,  consisted  of  a  wall  at  the  back 
and  a  colonnade  facing  the  Agora,  with  one  or  more 
internal  rows  of  columns  between :  but  it  must  also  have 
had  some  other  arrangements  to  provide  the  accommo- 
dation necessary  to  its  various  uses.  In  the  case  of  the 
Court  of  Areopagus  at  least,  these  were  supplemented  by 
an  enclosure  temporarily  roped  off  to  secure  the  required 
seclusion„2  The  only  recorded  fact  about  its  decoration 
is  that  it  had  above  its  roof  groups  of  terra-cotta,  repre- 
senting Theseus  hurling  Sciron  into  the  sea  and  Eos 
carrying  off  Cephalus,  —  both  of  them  familiar  subjects 
in  Attic  art. 

Beside  or  behind  the  Stoa  Basileios  was  another  por- 
tico, called  the  Stoa  Eleutherios,  apparently  from  its 
association  with  the  statue  of  Zeus  Soter  or  Eleutherios, 
that  stood  near  it.  These  epithets  of  the  god,  according 
to  the  most  probable  explanation,  are  to  be  connected, 

1  See  Dorpfekl,  Ath.  Mitth.  XXI.  108,  XXIT.  225. 

2  Dem.  in  Aristogit.  I.  23:  rb  ttjv  e£  ' Apeiov  vdyou  fiov\r]v,  Stolv  iv  ry  ^acrt\eiifi 
<noq.   Ka6e^ojj.4vT]  Trepi.(7xoi-vi(n}Tai,  Kara  tto\\t]i>  Tjcrvxiav  €<f  eavrrjs  elvai. 


388  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

at  Athens  as  at  Plataea,  with  the  Persian  Wars  and  the 
great  deliverance  of  the  Greeks  from  the  danger  of  a 
foreign  yoke.  This  portico  was  a  favourite  place  of 
resort  for  those  idling  in  the  market-place,  and  was, 
for  that  reason,  frequented  by  philosophers, — for  instance, 
Diogenes  the  cynic.  Its  position  in  this  region  is  con- 
firmed by  the  discovery,  in  the  railway  cutting,  between 
the  Theseum  and  the  Hermes  Street,  of  an  inscription, 
ordered  to  be  set  up  beside  Zeus  Soter.  The  paintings  in 
the  Stoa  were  by  Euphranor,  and  so  cannot  have  been 
executed  until  the  fourth  century.  The  third  and  most 
famous  of  these  great  porticoes  in  the  Agora  of  the 
fifth  and  fourth  centuries  was  probably  on  its  eastern 
side ;  this  was  built  by  Pisianax,  probably  a  relative  of 
Cimon  and  uncle  of  Alcibiades,  and  was  sometimes  called 
by  his  name ;  but  it  is  better  known  as  the  Stool  UolklXt), 
the  Painted  Colonnade,  because  of  the  fresco-paintings 
that  decorated  it,  and  that  were,  perhaps,  second  only  to 
those  of  the  Lesche  at  Delphi  in  fame  throughout  the 
ancient  world.  It  is  said  that  Polygnotus  painted  his 
share  of  this  portico  without  any  payment ;  the  other 
scenes  were  painted  by  Micon  and  by  Panaenus,  the 
brother  of  Phidias.  The  subjects  were  the  battle  between 
the  Athenians  and  Spartans  at  the  Argive  CEnoe,  prob- 
ably about  460  B.C.;  the  battle  of  the  Athenians  under 
Theseus  against  the  Amazons,  painted  by  Micon  ;  the 
Greeks  after  the  capture  of  Troy,  a  subject  similar  to 
that  in  the  Lesche  at  Delphi,  and  painted  by  Polygnotus 
himself   (in   it  Ajax    and  Cassandra  were    conspicuous); 


THE   CITY   IN    FIFTH   AND   FOURTH   CENTURIES     389 

and  the  victory  of  the  Athenians  and  Plataeans1  over  the 
Persians  at  Marathon,  attributed  variously  to  each  of  the 
three  artists  already  mentioned,  —  a  fact  which  suffices  to 
show  that  Micon  and  Panaenus  imitated  Polygnotus  in 
their  style.  The  battle  seems  to  have  been  divided  into 
three  scenes,  —  the  two  enemies  approaching  one  another, 
the  flight  of  the  Persians  to  the  marsh,  and  their  slaughter 
.as  they  regained  their  ships.  Various  gods  and  heroes 
were  represented  as  present,  Athena  and  Heracles  and 
Theseus,  and  the  hero  named  Echetlos,  who  was 
represented  as  slaying  the  Persians  with  a  ploughshare. 
Among  the  generals  the  figures  of  Miltiades,  who 
stood  forth  conspicuous,  and  of  Callimachus  on  the  Greek 
side,  and  of  Datis  and  Artaphernes  on  the  Persian  side, 
were  portraits  ;  the  poet  yEschylus  also  could  be  recog- 
nised among  the  combatants,  and  his  brother,  Cynce- 
geirus,  who  lost  his  hand  when  seizing  a  Persian  ship. 
Even  a  dog  which  accompanied  his  master  into  battle 
was  included  in  the  picture.  This  representation  of  the 
battle  of  Marathon  was  one  of  the  most  famous  among 
the  historical  pictures,  and  it  was  constantly  before  the 
eyes  and  the  minds  of  the  Athenians  as  a  memorial  of 
their  proudest  exploit.  It  is  interesting  to  notice  that 
they  did  not  shrink  from  representing,  in  painting,  inci- 
dents and  accessories  derived  from  the  actual  facts  of  the 
battle,  though  also  dignified  by  the  assistance  of  gods 
and  heroes ;  in  contemporary  sculpture,  as  we  have  seen, 
references  to  the  victory  over  the   Persians  are  usually 

1  See  Frazer,"  Pa  us.  note  ai loc. 


3Q0  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

expressed  only  in  a  symbolical  or  typical  manner,  by 
representations  such  as  the  combat  of  the  Greeks  and 
Centaurs. 

The  Painted  Stoa,  like  the  other  two,  was  in  the  most 
frequented  portion  of  the  Agora;  sometimes  it  served  for 
the  meetings  of  a  court,  always  for  a  public  resort  and 
the  disputation  of  the  philosophers.  Owing  to  this  last 
use  it  has  given  its  name  to  the  Stoics,  who  were  so 
called  because  their  master  Zeno  taught  mainly  in  this 
place. 

Other  buildings  which  were  indispensable  for  public 
business  or  ritual,  and  which,  therefore,  could  not  have 
been  allowed  to  remain  long  in  ruins,  were  the  Buleu- 
terium  or  Senate  House,  the  Tholus,  and  the  Prytaneum. 
The  position  of  these  has  already  been  considered  in 
Chapter  III.  There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  they 
were  spared  by  the  Persians,  and  their  rebuilding  may 
be  attributed  with  probability  to  the  time  of  Cimon. 
Of  the  form  of  the  Prytaneum  we  know  nothing ; 
it  must  have  had  accommodation  for  the  service  of 
the  common  table  kept  up  for  Athenians  of  distinc- 
tion and  for  foreign  ambassadors ;  this,  however,  had 
nothing  of  the  luxury  we  usually  associate  with  a  civic 
banquet.  It  also  held  the  sacred  hearth  of  the  state, 
and  the  statue  of  the  goddess  Hestia.  Some  of  the 
functions  which  we  might  have  expected  to  belong  to 
the  Prytaneum  were  assigned  to  the  Tholus,  which 
was  situated  close  to  the  Senate  I  louse  at  the  upper 
end   of   the   Agora.       The   Tholus   served   as   the  official 


THE   CITY   IN    FIFTH   AND   FOURTH   CENTURIES     391 

residence  of  the  chairman  of  the  fifty  Prytanes,  during 
his  twenty-four  hours  of  office,  and  he  and  his  col- 
leagues, together  with  certain  other  officials,  dined  there 
at  the  public  expense;  one-third  of  the  number,  as  well 
as  the  chairman,  had  to  stay  there  all  the  time.  The 
name  implies  that  it  was  a  circular  building;  its  roof 
is  said  to  have  been  of  stone,  not  of  wood  ;  and  it  was 
also  called,  probably  from  the  appearance  of  this  roof, 
the  Skicls  or  parasol.  It  seems  hardly  probable  that  a 
building  of  this  nature  should  have  had  sufficient  ac- 
commodation for  the  purposes  mentioned;  we  have  no 
reason  to  suppose  that  the  Greeks  of  the  fifth  century 
would  or  could  have  constructed  a  dome  of  any  con- 
siderable size.  Perhaps  there  were  other  chambers  for 
living  and  sleeping  attached  to  the  circular  structure 
which  was  the  most  essential  part  of  the  building  and 
gave  it  its  name.  Certain  rites,  especially  of  libation 
and  sacrifice,  were  connected  with  the  Tholus ;  and  in 
many  Greek  cities,  as  at  Rome,  we  find  such  circular 
structures  connected  with  a  sacred  hearth,  usually  the 
hearth  of  the  state,  and  the  deities  that  preside  over 
it,  Hestia  or  Vesta.  We  have  seen  that  in  Athens  this 
hearth  was  in  the  Prytaneum.  The  duplication  is  not 
easy  to  explain ;  perhaps  when  the  common  Prytaneum 
and  common  Senate  House  for  all  Attica  were  estab- 
lished, the  old  hearth  of  the  town  of  Athens  alone  was 
retained  in  the  Tholus.  The  Senate  House,  or  Buleu- 
terium,  was  close  to  the  Tholus.  It  may  probably  have 
had  the  shape  of  a  small  theatre ;  it  was  provided  with 


392  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

benches  for  the  Prytanes  or  presidents,  a  platform  for 
the  speakers,  and  a  railing  to  separate  the  part  open 
to  the  public.  In  the  same  region  were  the  statues  of 
the  Eponymous  Heroes  of  the  ten  tribes ;  they  must 
have  been  set  up  soon  after  the  Persian  War,  for  they 
are  constantly  referred  to.  It  was  the  custom  to  affix 
various  announcements,  made  according  to  tribes,  to 
their  pedestals  —  especially  the  lists  of  the  names 
drawn  for  military  service.  We  do  not  know  by  whom 
the  statues  were  made,  unless,  as  is  possible,  we  are  to 
recognise   Myron's   Erechtheus  among  them. 

A  shrine  that  we  know  to  have  been  erected  by 
Cimon  is  the  Theseum  ;  he  brought  the  bones  of  the 
hero  from  Scyros,  and  prepared  for  them  a  temple 
which  was  decorated  with  paintings  of  which  Pausanias 
gives  us  a  description ;  these  were  by  Micon,  or,  ac- 
cording to  some  authorities,  by  Polygnotus  —  a  con- 
fusion we  have  already  noticed  in  the  case  of  the 
paintings  in  the  Painted  Portico.  The  paintings  were 
probably  frescoes  which  covered  the  three  walls  of  the 
shrine,  the  fourth  being  occupied  by  the  door  of  en- 
trance ;  two  of  them  represented  the  battles  of  the 
Athenians  under  Theseus  against  the  Amazons,  and 
of  the  Lapiths  against  the  Centaurs;  the  subject  of 
the  third  was  an  episode  which  is  often  represented 
by  vase  painters,  among  them  Euphronios  on  a 
beautiful  vase,  and  which  is  related  in  one  of  the 
recently  found  poems  of  Bacchylides.  This  was  the 
visit  of  Theseus  to  Amphitrite  below  the  sea,  when  he 


THE   CITY   IN    FIFTH   AND    FOURTH   CENTURIES     393 

accepted  the  challenge  of  Minos  to  prove  his  divine 
origin  by  undertaking  to  recover  a  ring  thrown  into 
the  sea,  and  when  Amphitrite  gave  him  also  the  crown 
which  he  afterwards  presented  to  Ariadne.'  The  The- 
seum,  as  we  learn  from  Pausanias  and  from  other  in- 
dications, was  somewhere  to  the  east  of  the  Agora ;  it 
cannot,  therefore,  be  identified  with  the  temple  still 
extant,  which  is  commonly  known  as  the  Theseum, 
rather  because  archaeologists  cannot  agree  on  any  other 
name  for  it  than  because  any  one  now  accepts  this 
identification.-  The  'Avolkeiov,  or  temple  of  the  Dio- 
scuri, of  which  we  have  already  noticed  the  position 
near  the  precinct  of  Aglauros  on  the  north  slope  of 
the  Acropolis,  was  also  decorated  with  paintings  by 
Polygnotus  and  Micon,  and  so  may  be  classed  with 
the  temples  restored  by  Cimon.  The  paintings  both 
represented  exploits  of  the  Dioscuri  or  events  in  which 
they  were  concerned.  The  subject  of  that  by  Poly- 
gnotus was  "  the  marriage  of  the  daughters  of  Leucip- 
pus  " ;  that  is  to  say,  most  probably,  the  scene  in  which 
they  were  carried  off  by  Castor  and  Pollux  in  their 
chariots,  as  we  often  see  them  on  vases  and  reliefs. 
The  painting  by  Micon  referred  to  the  expedition  of 
the  Argonauts,  and  in  it  Acastus  and  his  horses  were 

1  Some  writers  suppose,  because  Pausanias  goes  on  to  speak  of  the  end  of  The- 
seus, that  this  also  was  represented.  This  is  most  unlikely,  especially  as  it  is  part 
of  a  story  not  very  creditable  to  the  hero.  Pausanias'  reason  for  mentioning  it  is 
evidently  to  explain  how  Theseus'  bones  came  to  be  in  Scyros,  and  has  nothing  to 
do  with  the  paintings. 

2  See  Chapter  X.,  below. 


394  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

the  most  prominent  objects ;  it  is,  therefore,  conjectured 
that  the  scene  depicted  must  have  been  the  funeral 
games  he  celebrated   in  honour  of  his  father  Pelias. 

It  would  be  possible  to  extend  to  a  considerable  length 
the  catalogue  of  the  buildings  that  were  probably  erected 
before  the  ostracism  of  Cimon,  because,  being  indispen- 
sable to  the  civic  life  or  the  religious  rites  of  the  state, 
they  must  have  been  restored  soon  after  their  destruc- 
tion by  the  Persians.  But  the  fewr  that  have  been 
mentioned  are  selected  either  because  of  their  frequent 
mention  by  classical  writers,  or  because  of  the  artists 
who  were  employed  in  their  decoration.  For  the  dating 
of  other  buildings  of  the  fifth  and  fourth  centuries  we 
are  dependent  to  a  great  extent  on  the  record  of  the 
artists  whose  works  they  contained.  Inferences  from 
this  record  are  evidently  liable  to  error;  although  a 
statue  cannot  well  have  been  placed  in  a  temple 
before  the  building  was  completed,  it  may  have 
existed  before,  and  have  been  transferred  from  else- 
where ;  and  it  may  not  have  been  placed  in  the  temple 
until  some  time  after  its  completion.  Still,  there  is 
no  harm  in  using  this  evidence  as  giving  a  probable 
indication,  though  not  one  that  can  be  insisted  on 
against  other  evidence  or  probability.  There  is  only 
one  building  in  the  lower  town  of  which  the  erection  is 
attributed  by  direct  evidence  to  the  time  of  Pericles. 
This  is  the  Odeum,  which  was  said  to  have  been  built 
in  imitation  of  the  tent  of  Xerxes,  and  to  have  been 
constructed    out   of    the    masts    and    yards    of    captured 


THE   CITY   IN    FIFTH    AND    FOURTH    CENTURIES     395 

ships.  It  was  mainly  of  wood,  and  to  this  fact  it  owed 
its  destruction,  for  it  was  burnt  when  Sulla  besieged 
Athens,  though  it  was  afterwards  rebuilt.1  It  had  seats 
for  a  considerable  number  of  people,  and  many  columns. 
It  was  most  probably  in  the  form  of  a  small  theatre  with 
a  roof.  Its  chief  use  was  for  the  musical  contests  at  the 
Panathenaic  festival ;  but  it  was  also  used  for  the  offi- 
cial rehearsal  of  plays  to  be  performed  at  the  Great 
Dionysia.  The  beauty  of  the  building  was  noted  ;  its 
external  appearance  may  be  to  some  extent  inferred 
from  the  jest  of  Cratinus  at  "  Pericles,  the  squill-headed 
Zeus,  with  the  Odeum  on  his  crown."  Of  course,  one 
must  not  strain  the  interpretation  of  such  a  jest;  but 
the  comparison  would  have  had  no  point  at  all  unless 
the  Odeum  had  a  round  or  oval  roof.  The  Odeum  was 
situated  close  to  the  Theatre  of  Dionysus,  just  to  the 
east  of  it.  It  was  thus  in  a  very  convenient  position, 
either  for  loungers  or  for  assemblies,  formal  or  informal. 
It  was  sometimes  used  for  these  purposes,  and  also  for 
the  storing  and  distribution  of  grain  in  times  of  scar- 
city. Unfortunately  no  traces  of  it  can  now  be  seen. 
Other  buildings,  or  at  least  the  statues  they  contained, 
must  be  assigned  to  the  time  of  Pericles,  and  of  Phidias 
as  the  general  director  of  artistic  activity.  One  of  these 
was  the  temple  of  Aphrodite  Urania ;  the  cult  of  this 
goddess,  who  was  recognised  as  identical  with  the  ori- 
ental goddess  of  love  and  queen  of  heaven,  was  said  to 
have  been  introduced  by  yEgeus ;    in   its  original  form 

1  See  p.  491. 


396  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

it  was  associated  with  licentious  rites  such  as  made 
Corinth  a  byword ;  and  it  was  contrasted  with  the  more 
sober  worship  of  Aphrodite  Pandemos,  the  "  great  and 
holy"1  goddess  of  marriage,  whose  ritual  formed  a  recog- 
nised part  of  the  state  religion.  There  is  no  doubt, 
however,  that  in  ancient  as  well  as  in  modern  times 
the  relation  of  the  two  cults  was  all  but  inverted. 
Spenser's  Hymn  of  Heavenly  Love,  as  opposed  to 
Earthly  or  Natural  Love,  simply  follows  the  distinc- 
tion of  Urania  and  Pandemos  as  interpreted  by  Plato.2 
It  is  probable,  when  we  consider  the  religious  tenden- 
cies of  Pericles  and  of  Phidias,  that  the  statue  of  Aphro- 
dite Urania  was  inspired  by  the  same  conception,  and 
was  intended  to  give  a  new  and  higher  meaning  to  the 
worship  of  the  goddess.  We  do  not,  unfortunately, 
possess  any  certain  copy  of  the  statue  to  confirm  or 
refute  this  theory. 

Another  statue  attributed  to  Phidias,  or  by  some  to 
his  favourite  pupil  Agoracritus,  was  that  of  the  Mother 
of  the  Gods  in  the  Metroum  beside  the  Senate  House. 
She  was  represented  as  seated,  with  a  cymbal  in  her 
hand,  and  with  lions  seated  beneath  her  throne,  a  type 
preserved  on  several  reliefs.  Here  it  would  seem  that 
the  sculptor  contented  himself  with  reproducing  the 
usual  type  of  Rhea  and  the  attributes  of  her  cult. 
Another  temple  about  contemporary  with  the  Parthenon 
is  that   now  generally  called  the   Theseum;    as  this  is 

1  Mey&Xr)  atixfr]  lldvorj/j!  ' AfipodlTrj.  —  Milchhiifer,  xi.  87. 

2  In  \\w  Phadrus, 


THE   CITY   IN    FIFTH    AND    FOURTH    CENTURIES     397 

reserved  for  separate  treatment,  it  is  unnecessary  here 
to  discuss  either  its  date  or  its  identification. 

After  the  banishment  or  death  of  Phidias,  his  pre- 
dominant place  among  Attic  artists  seems  to  have  been 
inherited  by  Alcamenes,  to.  whom  were  entrusted  the 
chief  public  commissions  for  sculpture  down  to  the  close 
of  the  fifth  century.  Some  of  the  statues  attributed  to 
him  may  of  course  have  been  made  before  the  beginning 
of  the  Peloponnesian  War ;  but  the  majority  of  them  are 
probably  to  be  assigned  to  the  last  quarter  of  the  cen- 
tury. He  supplied  the  statues  for  several  of  the  best- 
known  temples  of  Athens  —  the  "  Aphrodite  in  the 
Gardens,"  Ares  in  the  temple  near  the  Areopagus, 
Hecate  on  the  tower  ('ETTLTrvpyiSCa)  on  the  bastion  of 
Athena  Nike,  Hera  in  a  temple  between  Athens  and 
Phalerum,  the  colossal  gold  and  ivory  Dionysus  in  the 
temple  below  the  Theatre,  and  a  Hephaestus,  probably 
to  be  identified  with  the  colossal  bronze  statue  set  up 
together  with  another  statue  of  Athena,  as  stated  in  an 
inscription  of  about  416  b.c.1  These  statues  were  prob- 
ably those  set  up  in  the  temple  of  Hephaestus,  and  the 
temple  itself  may  be  of  the  same  date  or  a  little  earlier. 
The  artistic  types  of  all  these  statues  have  given  rise  to 
much  conjecture  and  discussion,  which  cannot  even  be 
summarised  here.  It  is  probable  enough  that  copies  of 
some  of  them  may  be  seen  in  statues  of  those  various 
divinities  that  are  still  familiar  to  us.  Their  record 
suffices  to    show   us   that   the   Athenians  found   oppor- 

1  Reisch,  Jahreshafte,  I.  p.  55,  CIA.  I.  318,  319. 


398  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

tunity,  during  the  intervals  of  the  Peloponnesian  War, 
not  only  to  build  the  Erechtheum  on  the  Acropolis,  but 
also  to  add  many  new  temples  and  statues  to  beautify 
the  lower  town.  The  disastrous  conclusion  of  the  war 
does  not  seem,  so  far  as  our  information  goes,  to  have 
left  much  mark  on  the  buildings  of  the  city ;  we  have 
already  noticed  the  destruction  and  rebuilding  of  the 
Long  Walls.  The  last  recorded  work  of  Alcamenes 
was  a  group  of  Athena  and  Heracles,  set  up  to  com- 
memorate the  exploits  of  Thrasybulus  and  the  freeing 
of  the  city  from  the  Thirty  Tyrants ;  it  was  however 
dedicated,  not  in  Athens,  but  in  Thebes,  whence 
Thrasybulus  had  started  to  seize   Phyle. 

The  earlier  part  of  the  fourth  century  does  not  offer 
any  records  of  great  importance  to  the  architectural  his- 
tory of  the  city.  Some  improvements  and  alterations 
were  made  in  the  precinct  south  of  the  Acropolis,  dedi- 
cated to  Asclepius,  whose  wrorship  had  probably  been 
introduced  into  Athens  from  Epidaurus  during  the 
Peloponnesian  War  to  take  the  place  of  an  earlier  shrine 
of  healing  on  the  same  spot.  This,  however,  is  more 
fully  considered  in  the  next  chapter.  Possibly  many 
projects  were  begun,  but  none  of  them  finished,  until 
the  able  administration  of  Lycurgus,  who  managed  the 
finances  and  other  affairs  in  Athens  from  338  to  326  B.C., 
brought  more  order  into  the  department  of  public  works. 
Foremost  among  these  was  the  Theatre  of  Dionysus;1 
he  also  finished  the  construction  of  the   Stadium,  which 

1  See  <  lhapter  IX. 


THE   CITY    IN    FIFTH    AND   FOURTH    CENTURIES     399 

hitherto  had  probably  been  only  roughly  adapted  to  its 
purpose  in  a  natural  valley,  and  rebuilt  the  gymnasium 
of  the  Lyceum,  the  favourite  resort  of  Aristotle  and  his 
pupils;  and  at  the  Piraeus  the  architect  Philo  erected 
under  his  administration  a  splendid  arsenal  for  the  gear  of 
the  Athenian  ships,  —  a  building  for  which  we  still  pos- 
sess the  specifications.  None  of  these  buildings,  except 
the  Theatre  and  the  Stadium,  has  survived  to  our  time; 
and  the  Stadium  has  been  so  much  changed,  first  by  the 
addition  of  marble  seats  by  H erodes  Atticus,  and  more 
recently  by  a  modern  restoration,  that  it  is  difficult  to 
form  any  notion  of  it  as  it  was  in  Lycurgus'  time.  But 
numerous  inscriptions  as  well  as  literary  records  testify 
to  the  great  services  which  he  rendered  to  the  state,  not 
only  in  finance,  but  also  in  beautifying  the  city  and  com- 
pleting what  others  had  begun,  and  from  the  age  of 
Pericles  to  that  of  Hadrian  there  was  probably  no  other 
man  who  left  so  lasting  an  impression  upon  Athenian 
architecture. 

If  the  public  monuments  of  Athens  are  less  conspicu- 
ous in  the  record  of  the  fourth  century  than  in  that  of  the 
fifth,  it  is  otherwise  with  private  buildings  and  dedica- 
tions. A  most  interesting  class  is  that  which  is  concerned 
with  victories  in  the  choric  dances  held  in  honour  of 
Dionysus.  A  tripod  was  the  prize  given  to  the  victorious 
choragus;  and  this  was  usually  dedicated  to  the  god, 
sometimes  on  the  top  of  a  little  temple  or  shrine  con- 
structed for  the  purpose.  A  most  beautiful  example  of 
these  choragic  monuments  is  the  one  dedicated  by  Lysi- 


4oo  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

crates  in  334  B.C.  This  is  in  the  form  of  a  small  circular 
temple  of  the  Corinthian  order,  of  which  it  is  one  of  the 
earliest  and  most  beautiful  examples.  It  is  raised  upon 
a  high  square  basis,  and  the  spaces  between  the  columns 
are  filled  by  carved  marble  panels,  of  which  the  upper 
part  is  decorated  with  tripods  in  relief.  The  whole  build- 
ing is  most  delicately  ornamented ;  the  roof,  which  is 
made  of  a  single  block  of  marble,  is  cut  into  a  leaf  pattern, 
and  provided  with  supports,  decorated  with  acanthus 
and  volutes,  to  carry  the  legs  and  body  of  the  tripod  that 
surmounted  the  whole.  The  frieze,  which  is  only  about 
ten  and  a  half  inches  high,  has  figures  in  relief,  repre- 
senting the  adventure  of  Dionysus  with  the  Tyrrhe- 
nian pirates,  as  narrated  in  the  Homeric  hymn.  The 
offenders  who  had  attacked  the  god  when  in  disguise, 
were  represented  as  undergoing  punishment  at  the  hands 
of  his  attendant  satyrs.  Some  are  already  changed  or 
half  changed  into  dolphins;  others  are  being  chastised 
by  satyrs  with  the  rods  that  they  are  breaking  from 
trees  for  the  purpose;  in  the  midst  the  god  himself  is 
seated,  caressing  his  panther,  while  on  either  side  of  him 
sits  a  satyr  with  a  thyrsus,  looking  on  at  the  scene;  and 
beyond  these  are  great  wine-bowls,  and  satyrs  around 
them  who  give  orders  to  those  who  are  more  actively 
employed,  so  that  the  god  himself  is  widely  separated 
from  the  scene  of  turmoil.  The  various  groups  corre- 
spond almost  exactly  with  one  another  all  through  the 
relief,  though  there  is  in  each  case  a  slight  variety  of 
action,  so  that  we  have  here  another  remarkable  example 


Mi! 


I  in  !  m; 


Choeagic  Monument  of  Lysicrates. 


THE   CITY   IN    FIFTH   AND    FOURTH    CENTURIES     403 

of  the  symmetry  that  usually  belongs  to  Greek  architec- 
tural sculpture.1  The  open  spacing  of  the  figures  and 
groups  is,  as  was  to  be  expected,  more  like  that  of  the 
Mausoleum  frieze  than  the  closer  arrangement  of  the 
friezes  of  the  fifth  century  in  Athens,  and  the  slimness 
of  the  proportions  and  a  certain  studied  grace  in  the 
attitudes  betrays  the  tendencies  of  the  later  Attic  school. 

The  monument  of  Lysicrates  stood  in  the  Street  of 
the  Tripods,  which  was  named  after  the  structures  of  a 
similar  nature  that  were  set  up  there ;  one  of  them  con- 
tained the  famous  satyr  of  Praxiteles,  copies  of  which 
are  probably  to  be  recognised  in  extant  statues.2  The 
whole  street  was  famous  for  the  works  of  art  which  it 
contained,  most  of  them,  apparently,  of  the  fourth  cen- 
tury. There  is  some  evidence  that  another  similar  build- 
ing existed  close  to  the  monument  of  Lysicrates  until 
the  seventeenth  century,  and  that  the  two  were  known 
from  their  shape  as  the  Lantern  of  Demosthenes  and 
the  Lantern  of  Diogenes.  The  monument  of  Lysi- 
crates was  for  a  long  time  used  as  the  library  of  a 
Capucin  monastery ;  it  was  restored  to  its  present  con- 
dition by  the  French  in   1845. 

The  most  conspicuous  of  all  the  choragic  monuments 
was  that  set  up  by  Thrasyllus  in  320  B.C.  in  the  cave 
above  the  great  Theatre.  He  walled  up  the  front  of 
the  cave    with   an    ornamental   architectural   front,    and 

1  This  symmetry  is  slightly  obscured  by  the  inversion  of  the  order  of  two  of  the 
groups  on  Stuart's  drawing  and  subsequent  reproductions,  including  the  restoration 
of  the  monument  itself.     See  De  Cou,  Am.  Jour.  Arch.  VIII.  p.  42. 

2  See  my  Handbook  of  Greek  Sculpture,  Fig.  85. 


404 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


set  up  above  it  the  statue  of  Dionysus  which  was 
brought  to  England  by  Lord  Elgin  and  is  now  in  the 
British  Museum ;  this,  though  a  work  of  no  special 
merit,  is  interesting  as  showing  an  attempt  to  revert 
to  the  monumental  dignity  of  the  sculpture  of  the  Phid- 
Stuart's    view    shows    this   monument    as    it 

was  in  his  time. 
It  has  now  been 
in  great  measure 
destroyed;  but  an 
architrave  with  in- 
scription still  re- 
mains, showing 
that    the    original 


( '.w  e  above  Theatre. 

Once   faced   with   choragic   monument   of  Thrasyllus. 
Above  it,  columns  to  carry  tripods. 


monument  of 
Thrasyllus  was 
supplemented  by 
other  dedications, 
probably  tripods, 
added  by  his  son 
about  fifty  years 
later.  The  cave 
now  contains  a  little  shrine  dedicated  to  UavayCa  Xpvao- 
0-7777 Acuwno- era,  "  Our  Lady  of  the  Golden  Cave,1'  and  was 
in  mediaeval  times  a  spot  of  considerable  sanctity;  but 
its  worship  and  title  have  now  been  transferred  to  a 
modern  church  in  the  lower  town,  and  the  only  trace  of 
it  that  is  left  is  the  lamp  that  still  burns  in  the  shrine,  and 
that,  from  its  position,  is  curiously  conspicuous  at  night. 


THE   CITY   IN    FIFTH   AND    FOURTH    CENTURIES     405 

Set  on  the  rock  above  the  cave  are  two  columns  with 
triangular  capitals  which  once  carried  votive  tripods. 

Another  choragic  monument  has  had  a  curious  fate; 
it  was  originally  set  up  by  a  certain  Nicias  to  commemo- 
rate a  choric  victory  of  320  B.C..  the  same  year  as  that  of 
Thrasyllus.     It  has  been  suggested  by  Professor  Dorp- 


Choragic  Monument  of  Thrasyllus  above  Theatre  in  Turkish  Times. 

feld  that  it  stood  on  a  foundation  that  was  partially 
destroyed  when  the  Odeum  of  Herodes  Atticus  was 
built.  But  the  architectural  front  of  the  monument  has 
been  used  to  make  an  ornamental  gateway  between  the 
two  towers  at  the  foot  of  the  approach  to  the  Acropolis ; 
and  there  it  stands  to  the  present  day,  with  its  inscrip- 
tion on  its  architrave.  We  have  no  certain  evidence 
when  it  was  placed  in  this  position.      If  it  was  removed 


4o6  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

when  the  Odeum  was  built,  a  natural  inference  is  that 
it  was  then  transferred  to  be  the  lower  gate  of  the 
Acropolis ;  but  it  makes  so  cramped  and  awkward  an 
entrance  that  one  finds  difficulty  in  believing  that  it 
was  put  there  in  the  time  of  Hadrian.  It  would  rather 
seem  to  date  from  some  later  repair.  This  is  the  gate 
which  was  excavated  by  Beule,  and  which  is  often  called, 
for  that  reason,  the  "  Beule  Gate." 

The  contrast  between  the  magnificence  of  the  public 
buildings  of  Athens  in  the  fifth  century  and  the  sim- 
plicity of  private  houses  is  pointed  out  by  Demosthenes  ; * 
and  he  uses  this  contrast  to  point  a  moral  at  the  inverted 
relation  of  the  two  in  his  own  day.  "  The  public  build- 
ings," says  he,  "  they  constructed  for  us,  the  number  and 
the  beauty  of  the  temples,  and  of  the  offerings  they  con- 
tained, are  such  that  their  successors  can  never  surpass 
them ;  but  in  private  life  they  practised  so  great  modera- 
tion, such  conformity  to  political  traditions,  that  even  if 
any  of  you  knew  which  wras  the  house  of  Aristides  or 
Miltiades  or  any  of  the  famous  men  of  old,  you  would 
find  it  no  more  pretentious  than  its  neighbours.  .  .  . 
And  what  can  one  point  out  nowadays  ?  The  battle- 
ments we  make  a  fuss  about  and  the  roads  we  repair 
and  the  fountains  and  such  rubbish  ?  No ;  look  at  our 
statesmen ;  among  whom  those  who  were  poor  have 
become  rich,  and  those  who  were  unknown  have  come 
to  honour,  and  some  of  them  have  built  themselves  pri- 
vate houses  more  pretentious  than  the  public  buildings." 

1  01.  in.  25. 


THE   CITY   IN    FIFTH   AND   FOURTH   CENTURIES     407 

This  speech  of  Demosthenes  was  of  course  made  before 
the  administration  of  Lycurgus  had  removed  the  slur 
which  he  here  casts  upon  the  public  undertakings  of 
his  time ;  and  we  have  already  noticed  the  lack  of  pub- 
lic buildings  that  can  be  assigned  to  the  earlier  or  mid- 
dle portions  of  the  fourth  century.  We  can  trace  the 
beginnings  of  a  more  sumptuous  taste  in  domestic  archi- 
tecture back  to  the  fifth  century.  Alcibiades  is  said  to 
have  kidnapped  the  painter  Agatharchus,  threatening  to 
retain  him  a  prisoner  in  his  house  until  he  had  finished 
adorning  it  with  frescoes ;  and  it  was  three  months 
before  the  unlucky  painter  made  his  escape,  leaving  his 
work  still  unfinished.  Xenophon,1  too,  quotes  Socrates 
as  expressing  his  disapproval  of  this  practice,  and  assert- 
ing that  such  decoration  destroys  more  pleasure  than  it 
gives.  And  the  house  of  Callias,  as  described  in  the 
beginning  of  Plato's  Protagoras,  must  have  been  a  con- 
spicuous building,  since  it  contained  a  court  with  ex- 
tensive porticoes,  in  which  various  groups  of  talkers 
could  walk  or  sit,  and  chambers  for  guests,  and  store- 
houses, in  addition  to  the  usual  domestic  accommoda- 
tions. But  the  limited  extent  of  the  city  and  the 
crowding  of  its  population  must  always  have  made  such 
extensive  houses  the  exception  rather  than  the  rule, 
save  in  the  case  of  the  suburbs  and  gardens  and  country 
houses  which  the  richer  Athenians  already  possessed  in 
the  time  of  Pericles,  and  which  he  urged  them  to  give 
up  without  repining  when  the  Spartan   invasion  drove 

1  Mem.  III.  S. 


4o8  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

them  all  within  the  walls  of  the  town.  Doubtless  after 
the  stress  of  the  war  had  passed,  the  middle  as  well  as 
the  upper  classes  of  the  Athenians  returned  to  their 
country  houses  with  the  same  delight  as  is  evinced  by 
Trygaeus  in  Aristophanes'  Peace.  It  is  not  to  be 
imagined,  however,  that  even  in  the  fourth  century  the 
finer  houses  of  a  Greek  city  had  an  imposing  appearance 
like  a  modern  mansion ;  they  usually  showed  blank  walls 
to  the  street,  or  had  mere  slits  for  windows ;  they  were, 
as  a  rule,  except  their  foundations,  built  only  of  sun-dried 
brick  covered  with  stucco,  such  as  offered  insufficient 
defence  against  the  Toiyoipvyo%,  the  wall-digger  or  burg- 
lar of  ancient  times ;  and  they  usually  had  no  external 
architectural  ornament  beyond  a  simple  porch,  with 
small  columns  to  support  it,  at  the  front  door.  The 
roof, ,  too,  was  usually  flat ;  and  though  some  of  the 
houses  in  a  town  were  two-storied,  they  probably  had 
no  very  imposing  proportions  from  without,  however 
sumptuous  were  their  arrangements  and  decoration 
within.  We  must  therefore  imagine  the  town  of  Athens, 
in  the  fourth  no  less  than  in  the  fifth  century,  as  dis- 
tinguished  only  by  its  open  spaces,  religious  or  civil, 
Agora  and  precincts,  public  buildings,  and  temples  of 
the  gods.  The  streets  mostly  kept  their  old  size  and 
direction,  and  were,  according  to  our  notions,  mean  and 
narrow,  and  the  private  houses  afford  little  variety  of 
aspect.  On  the  other  hand,  the  public  gardens  and 
gymnasia,  and  other  places  of  resort  for  leisurely  con- 
versation or  pleasant   walks  in  the  suburbs,  had  greatly 


THE    CITY    IN    FIFTH    AND    FOURTH    CENTURIES     409 

improved.  The  impression  one  gathers  from  the  litera- 
ture of  the  time  is  not  only  of  a  city  unrivalled  for  the 
monuments  of  its  art,  but  of  one  pleasant  to  visit  or  to 
dwell  in,  surrounded  by  a  country  diversified  with  trick- 
ling streams  and  shady  groves.  And  with  them  was 
associated  what  is  now  lost  with  them,  the  temperate 
climate  celebrated  by  Attic  writers. 


CHAPTER    X 

THE  THESEUM,   THE  ASCLEPIEUM,  AND   THE  THEATRE 

The  temple  generally  known  as  the  Theseum  !  is  in 
a  better  state  of  preservation  than  any  other  that  has 
survived  from  Greek  times  ;  and,  moreover,  it  is  one  of 
the  most  conspicuous  buildings  in  Athens  outside  the 
Acropolis.  Yet  its  name  and  identification  have  been 
the  subject  of  almost  endless  controversy,  and  the  temple 
itself  is  for  some  reason  disappointing  in  the  impression 
it  produces  on  the  visitor  to  Athens.  This  impression, 
which  is  very  widely  felt,  must  have  some  reason.  We 
should  have  expected  the  almost  complete  preservation 
of  a  temple,  built  in  Athens  and  contemporary  with  the 
Parthenon,  to  have  been  an  immense  help  to  our  imagi- 
nation in  realising  what  Greek  architecture  was  like  in 
its  best  examples.  That  this  is  not  the  case,  at  least  to 
as  high  a  degree  as  might  be  expected,  is  not  due 
entirely  to  the  position  of  the  Theseum.  It  is  situated 
on  a  low  hill,  just  clear  of  the  modern  town,  while  the 
whole  space  between  it  and  the  Acropolis  is  left  open ; 
and  it  is  consequently  possible  to  obtain  a  view  of  it 
from  various  positions,  in  which  its  effect  is  not  marred 

1  The  most  recent  and  complete  work  on  the  Theseum  is  that  of  Professor  Sauer. 
See  also  Baumeister,  art  "Theseion." 

410 


THE  THESEUM,  THE   ASCLEl'IKUM,  'I'HE   THEATRE     411 

by  the  vicinity  of  modern  structures.  The  explanation 
must  probably  lie  in  the  fact  that  the  Theseum,  though 
built  in  the  best  days  of  Attic  architecture,  was  not 
designed  by  an  architect  like  Ictinus  or  Mnesicles  ;  it 
has  no  simple  and  easily  appreciable  relation  between  its 
various  proportions,  such  as  in  the  Parthenon  gives 
satisfaction  to  the  eye  ;  and  a  Doric  building  depends 
almost  entirely  for  its  effect  on  these  subtly  harmonised 
proportions. 

The  history  of  the  Theseum  is  similar  to  that  of  other 
temples  in  Athens ;  it  owes  its  preservation  to  being 
transformed  into  a  church,  in  this  instance  dedicated 
to  St.  George ;  and  it  has  escaped  the  disastrous  acci- 
dents that  ruined  the  Erechtheum  and  the  Parthenon. 
Like  the  Parthenon,  it  had  to  be  supplied  with  a  new 
roof ;  but  this  was  done  without  so  much  damage  to 
the  structure.  The  question  of  the  identification  of  the 
building  is  better  deferred  until  we  have  before  us  the 
data  supplied  by  its  architectural  forms  and  sculptural 
decoration. 

The  Theseum  is  a  temple  of  the  Doric  order,  with  six 
columns  at  front  and  back  and  thirteen  at  each  side.  It 
is  raised  upon  three  steps,  of  which  the  upper  two  only 
are  of  marble,  the  bottom  one  of  Piraic  limestone ;  if 
this  bottom  step  was  visible,  the  result  must  have  been 
unsatisfactory  in  appearance.  The  plan  of  the  body  of 
the  temple  is  a  common  one  for  Greek  temples ;  it 
consists  only  of  a  cella,  with  a  pronaos  in  front,  and 
an  opisthodomus  at  the  back  which   is   a  mere   recess; 


4i2  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

there  is  no  second  chamber,  as  in  the  Parthenon. 
At  front  and  back,  within  the  colonnade,  the  temple 
ends  in  two  columns  between  antae.  The  roof  of  the 
colonnade  is  to  a  great  extent  preserved,  and  consists  of 
sets  of  panels  or  caskets  carried  by  marble  beams  which 
run  across  from  the  entablature  above  the  columns  to 
the  top  of  the  cella  wall.  In  this  as  in  other  respects 
the  Theseum  gives  us  a  notion  of  the  appearance  of 
a  Doric  temple  when  complete.  The  slabs  closing  the 
caskets  at  the  top  are  in  many  cases  loose,  and  provided 
with  letters  to  indicate  their  position.  It  has  been 
suggested  with  probability  by  Mr.  W.  N.  Bates  that 
they  could  be  removed  and  replaced  at  will,  so  as  to 
admit  into  the  cella  the  light  reflected  up  from  the 
pavement  outside  —  an  ingenious  solution  of  the  problem 
of  lighting  a  Greek  temple.1  The  forms  of  the  echinus 
of  the  capitals  and  of  other  details  resemble  those  of  the 
Parthenon  pretty  closely,  and  it  is  impossible  to  draw 
any  chronological  distinction  between  the  two  buildings, 
or  to  suppose  that  they  were  separated  from  each  other 
by  any  long  interval  of  time. 

The  Theseum  has  preserved  to  a  remarkable  degree 
the  traces  of  the  colours  with  which  it  was  originally 
painted;  there  is  some  conflict  of  evidence  as  to  details, 
especially  such  as,  if  they  once  existed,  have  disappeared 
within  the  last  half-century  or  so.  It  seems  fairly  clear, 
however,  that,  here  as  elsewhere,  the  broader  masses  such 
as  columns  and  architraves  were  left  plain,  and  that  the 

1  Amcr.  four.  Arch.  1901,  p.  37. 


THE  THESEUM,  THE   ASCLEPIEUM,  THE  THEATRE     413 


The  Theseum  from  the  West,  showing  Frieze  in  situ. 

Lapilhs  and  Centaurs.     Casneus  group  in  centre. 

colouring  was  confined  either  to  the  smaller  mouldings 
or  to  such  surfaces  as  were  subdivided  in  detail.  Thus 
the  triglyphs  were  blue,  and  the  mutules  also,  while  the 
drops  projecting  from  the  latter  were  red,  and  red  was 
also  used  for  other  small  surfaces.  The  background  of 
the  metopes,  too,  was  red,  while  that  of  the  continuous 
frieze  over  the  inner  columns  was  blue.  And  in  many 
cases  where  the  colour  is  lost  the  various  weatherings 
of  the  surface  show  the  leaf  pattern  and  other  designs 
that  once  ornamented  the  mouldings.  A  much-disputed 
question  is  whether  any  such  pattern  ever  existed  on  the 
echinus  of  the  capital ;  but  the  balance  of  evidence,  as 
well  as  of  probability,  appears  to  favour  the  opinion  that 
the  echinus  was  left  plain. 


4I4  ANCIENT  ATHENS 

The  sculpture  of  the  Theseum  consisted  of  pedimental 
groups  now  entirely  lost,  metopes  placed  over  the  Doric 
colonnade  on  the  outside,  and  also  a  continuous  frieze 
set  above  the  inner  columns  and  antoe  within  the  colon- 
nade at  each  end,  a  position  similar  to  that  of  the  con- 
tinuous frieze  of  the  Parthenon;  but  this  frieze  is  not,  in 
the  Theseum,  continued  along  the  sides  of  the  building 
as  well.  The  metopes  are  not  all  sculptured,  but  only 
those  of  the  east  front,  ten  in  number,  and  the  four  on 
each  side  adjoining  the  east  front.  These  metopes  have 
all  suffered  greatly  from  the  weather,  and  many  of  them 
are  barely  distinguishable  at  present;  they  were  a  little 
better  preserved  in  the  time  of  Stuart,  and,  consequently, 
his  drawings  are  of  considerable  value  in  any  attempt  at 
reconstruction.1  The  ten  metopes  of  the  east  front  rep- 
resent the  labours  of  Heracles,  and  the  other  eight,  on 
the  sides,  represent  the  exploits  of  Theseus.  Although 
so  little  is  left,  the  scenes  and  the  actions  correspond  so 
closely  with  the  treatment  of  the  same  subjects  on  Attic 
vases  that  it  has  been  possible  to  recover  almost  com- 
pletely the  original  compositions;  and  this  has  been 
done  with  great  ingenuity,  and  also  with  a  high  degree  of 
certainty,  by  Professor  Sauer  in  his  monograph  on  the 
temple.  This,  however,  is  too  much  a  question  of  Greek 
mythography  to  be  included  here;  it  must  suffice  for  us 
to  note  that  nine  of  the  usual  labours  are  represented  on 
the  ten  metopes,  that  of  Geryon  being  divided  between 

'  Antiquities  of  Athens,  III.  i.  See  also  the  drawings  in  A/on.  Inst.  X.  43-44, 
58,  59.     Saucr,  op.  at. 


THE  THESEUM,  THE  ASCLEPIEUM,  THE  THEATRE     415 


two.  There  is  nothing  incongruous  in  this,  since  Hera- 
cles is  represented  as  an  archer;  but  it  is  a  clear 
survival  of  tradition,  for  on  the  Athenian  treasury  at 
Delphi  the  subject  of  Geryon  and  his  cattle  occupies 
no  less  than  five 
metopes.  The  ex- 
ploits of  Theseus 
are  also  a  favourite 
subject  upon  Attic 
vases ;  and  here,  too, 
the  groups  on  the 
metopes  correspond 
very  closely  with  the 
representations  on 
the  vases.  This  close 
correspondence  is 
the  more  remarkable 
since,  in  the  case  of  the  almost  contemporary  metopes  of 
the  Parthenon,  it  has  not  been  found  possible,  to  any  great 
extent,  to  identify  their  subjects,  or  to  restore  them,  by 
the  help  of  vase-paintings ;  one  may  fairly  draw  the  infer- 
ence that  the  sculptors  of  the  Parthenon  metopes  were 
either  more  independent  of  tradition  altogether,  or  at 
least  that  they  did  not  follow  the  tradition  common  to 
the  sculptors  of  the  Theseum  metopes  and  the  Attic 
vase  painters.  The  Theseum  metopes  have,  however, 
qualities  of  their  own  which  go  beyond  this  common 
tradition.  The  subjects  and  motives  are  selected  with 
considerable  skill  to  suit  their   architectural   frame,  the 


Metope  of  Theseum. 
Theseus  and  Cercyon. 


416 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


principle  followed  being  almost  always  that  of  contrast. 
The  lithe  and  athletic  bodies  of  the  heroes  and  their 
vigorous  action  show  out  well  against  the  rigid  squares 
in  which  they  are  set.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
action  is  often  too  momentary,  the  position  too  unstable, 
to  be  suited  to  sculpture.  We  noticed  these  char- 
acteristics in  a  certain  class  of  the  metopes  of  the  Par- 
thenon, though  hardly  in  so  extreme  a  form  as  in  the 
Theseum.  So  far  as  we  can  judge  from  the  damaged 
surface  of  the  sculpture,  supplemented  by  the  obser- 
vation of  earlier 
travellers,  the  style 
of  the  modelling 
would  also  appear 
to  be  of  the  same 
dry  and  sinewy  kind 
that  we  noticed  in 
the  Parthenon  me- 
topes. At  the  same 
time,  the  compo- 
sition and  execu- 
tion show  certain 
differences  as  well 
as  this  general  resemblance;  in  particular,  the  sculp- 
tor, or  sculptors,  of  this  particular  set  of  Parthenon 
metopes  seems  to  be  more  original  in  his  choice  of 
motives,  less  content  with  the  conventional  repertoire. 
If  we  agree  with  the  commonly  accepted  notion  that 
the    influence    or    school    of    Myron    is    to    be    recog- 


.gjfc""-^>  -V  -   -V-  £■— — =  ----■. 

Metope  of  Theseum. 

Theseus  and  bull. 


THE  THESEUM,  THE  ASCLEPIElJM,  THE  THEATRE     417 

nised  in  the  Parthenon  metopes,  we  shall  be  inclined 
to  attribute  the  metopes  of  the  Theseum  to  a  simi- 
lar, but  not  to  the  same,  school,  and  to  a  school 
more  closely  bound  up  with  the  earlier  Attic  tradi- 
tions. Such  a  school  may  be  that  recorded  to  have 
been  founded  by  Critius,  who  joined  with  Nesiotes  to 
make  the  statues  of  the  Tyrannicides ;  but  we  must 
remember  that  any  such  conjecture,  though  affording  a 
convenient  name,  must  not  be  regarded  as  an  estab- 
lished fact. 

The  continuous  friezes  of  the  Theseum  were  not 
identical  in  their  arrangement.  That  at  the  west  end, 
which  contained  scenes  from  the  battle  of  the  Lapiths 
and  Centaurs,  extended  only  over  the  front  of  the  temple 
itself,  between  the  antae  and  above  the  columns.  That 
at  the  east  end  not  only  covered  this  space,  but  also 
extended  in  the  same  line,  on  each  side,  across  the 
colonnade;  and  the  distribution  of  the  groups  it  con- 
tains takes  these  architectural  conditions  into  account. 
Above  each  of  the  antae  is  a  comparatively  quiet  group 
of  seated  gods;  outside  these,  at  each  end,  are  groups 
of  captors  with  prisoners ;  while  the  middle  space  is 
taken  up  by  a  wild  scene  of  battle,  in  which  the  com- 
batants, on  one  side  at  least,  appear  to  hurl  huge  stones 
as  their  weapons,  while  their  antagonists  are  armed  as 
Greek  warriors.  A  probable  explanation  of  the  scene 
appears  to  be  that  Greeks,  probably  Athenians,  are  here 
represented  as  fighting  some  gigantic  or  barbarous  foes ; 
the  suggestion  of  O.  Miiller  is  that  these  are  the  Pallan- 


4i8  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

tids,  fifty  gigantic  sons  of  Pallas,  who  disputed  the 
kingdom  of  Attica  with  Theseus.  Though  many  other 
suggestions  have  since  been  made,  no  other  seems 
to  fit  the  circumstances  so  completely;  for  in  the  midst 
is  one  heroic  figure  who  bears  the  brunt  of  the  combat, 
and  may  well  be  Theseus  himself;  even  if  the  temple  is 
not  the  Theseum,  there  is  no  doubt  that  his  deeds  are 
represented  in  some  of  the  metopes,  and  so  he  might 
well  appear  on  the  frieze  also. 

The  battle  between  the  Lapiths  and  Centaurs,  which 
is  the  subject  of  the  inner  or  continuous  frieze  at  the 
west  end  of  the  temple,  is  of  a  simpler  composition.  Its 
extent,  as  we  have  already  noticed,  is  limited  to  the 
space  above  the  antae  and  columns.  In  the  midst  is  a 
great  group,  familiar  on  vase-paintings,  of  which  the 
central  figure  is  the  invulnerable  Caeneus.  He  is  buried 
to  the  waist  in  the  stones  that  the  Centaurs  are  piling 
on  him,  but  he  still  protects  himself  with  sword  and 
shield ;  and  on  either  side  another  Greek  comes  to  his 
aid.  In  the  rest  of  the  frieze  there  is  a  distinct  ten- 
dency for  the  composition  to  break  up  into  pairs  of  com- 
batants, each  of  which  would  fit  into  the  square  frame  of 
a  metope;  and  some  of  these  groups  have  a  strong 
resemblance  to  certain  metopes  of  the  Parthenon.  This 
resemblance  has  given  rise  to  much  discussion,  some 
authorities  maintaining  that  the  Thesenm  frieze  is  di- 
rectly copied  from  the  Parthenon  metopes,  while  others 
think  the  resemblance  may  be  sufficiently  explained  by  a 
common  tradition;   the  subject,  being  a  suitable  one  for 


THE  THESEUM,  THE  ASCLEPIEUM,  THE  THEATRE     419 

metopes,  may  have  become  stereotyped  into  a  series 
of  groups  with  a  limited  number  of  motives.  The  truth 
probably  lies  between  the  two  extreme  views.  The 
Theseum  frieze  shows  considerable  difference  in  style 
from  the  metopes  of  the  Parthenon,  and  cannot  be  a 
work  of  the  same  school,  or  directly  dependent  on  them. 
Moreover,  there  are  other  cases  besides  that  of  Caeneus 
where  the  groups  are  too  extensive  to  be  derived  from 
metopes ;  and  the  west  frieze  of  the  Theseum,  as  well  as 
the  east,  shows  some  bold  examples  of  foreshortening 
and  other  pictorial  devices  which  are  foreign  to  the 
character  of  the  Parthenon,  and  show  more  affinity  with 
painting.  At  the  same  time,  it  must  be  admitted  that  a 
set  of  compositions  as  bold  and  vigorous  as  the  metopes 
of  the  Parthenon  was  likely  to  influence  an  almost 
contemporary  work  dealing  with  the  same  subject,  and 
the  resemblances  that  have  been  pointed  out  are  too 
close  to  be  attributed  to  mere  coincidence.  If  we  allow 
for  the  difference  of  architectural  conditions,  the  friezes 
and  metopes  of  the  Theseum  do  not,  so  far  as  we  can 
judge,  show  anything  like  the  difference  in  style  which 
we  see  between  frieze  and  metopes  in  the  Parthenon. 
The  temple,  being  a  small  one,  was  probably  more 
quickly  completed,  and  with  less  variety  in  the  sculptors 
employed  to  decorate  it. 

The  pedimental  sculpture  of  the  Theseum  has  left 
traces  on  the  bed  of  the  pediments  similar  to  that  which 
we  have  noticed  in  the  case  of  the  Parthenon.  These 
traces  have  been  recorded  and  studied  in  both  instances 


420  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

with  the  same  care  by  Professor  Sauer.  In  the  case  of 
the  Parthenon  his  investigations  have,  as  we  have 
seen,  led  to  valuable  results.  There,  however,  they 
were  supplemented  by  classical  references  to  the  subject 
of  the  pediments,  by  extant  remains  of  the  sculpture, 
and  by  drawings  made  by  earlier  travellers  when  the 
groups  were  in  better  condition.  In  the  case  of  the 
Theseum  no  such  aids  exist ;  and  apart  from  them  it 
might  well  be  doubted  whether  any  satisfactory  infer- 
ences could  be  drawn  from  the  mere  traces  of  weathering 
and  other  indications  left  on  the  building.  Professor 
Sauer,  however,  has  not  despaired ;  from  the  available 
evidence  he  has  inferred,  not  only  the  number  and 
disposition,  but  also  to  some  extent  the  position  and 
character  of  the  figures  represented.  He  has  then,  with 
the  help  of  reliefs  and  vase-paintings,  devised  a  subject 
for  the  east  pediment  —  the  birth  of  Erichthonius  from 
the  Earth,  who  hands  him  over  to  the  care  of  Athena 
in  the  presence  of  Hephaestus  and  Cecrops  —  which  can 
be  reconciled  with  the  extant  indications.1  Here,  how- 
ever, while  we  cannot  but  admire  the  ingenuity  with 
which  Professor  Sauer  has  supported  his  theory,  it 
cannot  seriously  be  maintained  that  he  has  clone  more 
than  give  a  possible  solution  of  the  problem.  Another 
archaeologist,  possessed  of  equal  knowledge  and  acumen, 
could  probably  suggest  another  solution  which  would  fit 
equally  well  the  marks  on  the  ground  of  the  pediment; 

1  Professor  Sauer  also  proposes  a  restoration  <>f  the  west  pediment;    but  it  is  less 
•  tory  in  itself  and  based  on  less  evidencft 


THE  THESEUM,  THE  ASCLEPIEUM,  THE  THEATRE     421 

and,  in  any  case,  so  highly  conjectural  a  restoration  is 
not  admissible  as  evidence  for  the  identification  of  the 
temple. 

It  is  a  curious  chance  that  has  left  the  identification 
of  the  best-preserved  of  all  Greek  temples,  a  temple,  too, 
in  a  conspicuous  position  in  the  town  of  Athens,  in  a 
state  of  uncertainty ;  for,  although  several  identifications 
have  been  proposed  with  a  considerable  degree  of  con- 
fidence, and  have  met  with  some  acceptance,  none  of 
them  can  yet  be  said  to  have  obtained  any  general  con- 
sensus of  opinion  in  its  favour.  It  is,  therefore,  still 
customary  to  call  the  building  by  the  name  "  Theseum," 
although  hardly  any  authorities  now  accept  that  identi- 
fication ; 1  even  Professor  Sauer,  who  has  decided  views 
on  the  subject,  retains  "  Theseum  "  in  the  title  of  his 
book. 

The  data  for  identification  are,  briefly,  as  follows : 
The  building  is  clearly  a  temple ;  and,  as  it  faced  east, 
it  was  presumably  dedicated  to  a  god,  not  to  a  hero.2 
It  may  be  dated,  both  from  its  architectural  forms  and 
from  the  style  of  its  sculptures,  as  almost  exactly  con- 
temporary with  the  Parthenon.  The  subjects  of  its 
sculptures  are,  in  the  metopes,  the  exploits  of  Hera- 
cles and  Theseus  ;  in  the  friezes,  a  combat  with  some 
gigantic  or  savage  enemy  who  cannot  be  identified  with 
certainty,  and  the   battle  of  the   Greeks  and  Centaurs ; 

1  The  only  notable  exception,  I  believe,  is  Mr.  Penrose,  who  bases  his  belief 
mainly  on  the  orientation,  which  fits  his  theory. 

2  This  rule  that  a  heroum  faces  west  seems  to  be  usually  observed,  though  clear 
instances  are  rare  ;    the  temple  of  the  Dioscuri  at  Naucratis  faces  west. 


422  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

in  the  pediments,  groups  which  have  completely  dis- 
appeared. It  is  situated  on  a  low  hill  just  to  the  west 
of  the  Agora,  probably  to  be  identified  as  Colonos 
Agoraios,  in  the  quarter  of  Melite ;  Pausanias  mentions 
two  or  three  temples  in  this  neighbourhood,  and  others 
are  recorded  by  various  writers.  The  suggestions  as  to 
the  identification  that  have  met  with  most  acceptance 
are  that  it  is  the  Theseum,  the  temple  of  Hephaestus, 
the  temple  of  Apollo  Patrous,  or  the  temple  of  Heracles 
in  Melite,  not  to  include  other  guesses  that  are  topo- 
graphically or  otherwise  inadmissible. 

Of  these  the  identification  of  the  building  as  the  The- 
seum is  excluded  both  by  the  date  of  the  building  — 
for  Cimon  brought  the  bones  of  Theseus  from  Scyros 
in  469  B.C.  —  and  by  its  position  ;  for  Pausanias  men- 
tions the  Theseum  among  other  buildings  which  we 
know  to  have  lain  to  the  east  of  the  Agora.  Its  general 
acceptance  in  earlier  times  is  due  simply  to  the  repre- 
sentation of  the  exploits  of  Theseus  on  the  metopes. 
The  assignment  of  the  temple  to  Apollo  Patrous,  also, 
is  inadmissible  topographically,  since  that  temple  was 
in  the  Agora,  not  above  it  to  the  west ;  and,  moreover, 
there  is  nothing  appropriate  to  this  in  the  sculptures. 
The  temple  of  Hephaestus  is,  topographically,  the  most 
suitable ;  for  Pausanias  describes  that  temple  as  above 
the  Stoa  Basileios,  and  this  can  hardly  mean  anything 
but  on  the  little  hill  where  the  Theseum  stands;  this 
identification  was  advocated  by  Dr.  Lolling,  is  sup- 
ported  by    Professor   Dorpfeld,  and   is   provisionally  ac- 


THE  THESEUM,  THE  ASCLEPIEUM,  THE  THEATRE     423 

cepted  by  Mr.  Frazer,  after  a  careful  summary  of  all 
the  evidence.  Whether  we  accept  it  or  not  will  mainly 
depend  on  the  weight  we  assign  to  the  subject  of  the 
extant  sculptures  in  metopes  and  friezes;  for  whatever 
interpretation  we  may  give  to  them,  it  is  not  easy  to 
bring  them  into  any  relation  with  Hephaestus.  This 
is  frankly  admitted  on  all  hands ;  but  it  is  suggested 
that  the  subjects  of  metopes  and  friezes,  being  of  sub- 
ordinate importance,  need  not  necessarily  have  any 
relation  to  the  deity  to  whom  the  temple  is  dedicated  ; 
and  the  temple  of  Zeus  at  Olympia  and  the  Parthe- 
non itself  are  quoted  to  prove  this  statement.  They 
do  not,  however,  offer  an  exact  parallel.  The  relation 
of  Heracles  to  Zeus,  especially  at  Olympia,  where,  ac- 
cording to  one  account,  he  instituted  the  games,  makes 
his  labours  an  appropriate  subject  for  his  father's  tem- 
ple ;  and  on  the  Parthenon,  the  subjects  of  the  metopes, 
both  in  themselves  and  in  their  allegorical  interpreta- 
tion, were  by  no  means  indifferent  to  Athena;  nor  can 
miscellaneous  sets  of  metopes,  like  those  of  Selinus,  be 
quoted  in  this  connection,  for  the  sculptures  of  the 
Theseum  are  evidently  all  part  of  a  common  design. 
And  even  if  we  leave  out  uncertain  subjects,  there  is 
nothing  in  the  story  of  the  Centaurs  and  Lapiths  that 
can  be  considered  at  all  appropriate  to  Hephaestus,  while 
to  carve  exploits  of  Heracles  and  Theseus  upon  his 
temple  would  be  a  very  doubtful  compliment  to  him. 
It  seems  wiser  not  to  accept  as  certain  an  identi- 
fication  that   involves  such  an  improbability,  upon  the 


4;4  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

somewhat    uncertain    evidence    of    a    topographical    in- 
ference. 

There  remains  the  theory  of  Curtius  and  others  that 
the  "  Theseum  "  is  the  temple  of  Heracles  in  Melite. 
The  topographical  evidence  is  not  against  this,  though 
not  very  strong  in  its  favour,  since  Melite  was  an  exten- 
sive region.  The  fact  that  Pausanias  has  omitted  all 
reference  to  this  temple,  if  it  was  so  conspicuous  and  so 
near  to  his  route,  may  require  some  explanation. .  But 
we  must  remember  that  he  only  gives  us  a  selection 
from  his  notes.  And  perhaps  the  conspicuousness  of 
the  temple  at  the  present  day  leads  us  to  an  unwar- 
ranted assumption  that  it  was  equally  conspicuous  in 
ancient  times.  The  great  majority  of  the  temples  men- 
tioned by  Pausanias  —  not  to  speak  of  those  which  he 
omits  —  have  disappeared  without  leaving  any  trace 
behind  them ;  when  they  were  all  standing,  many  of 
them  probably  larger  and  richer  in  works  of  art  than 
the  "  Theseum,"  it  may  have  been  easy  enough  for  a 
traveller  to  overlook  a  building  that  the  fortunate  chance 
of  Christian  use  has  caused  to  survive  its  fellows.  It 
would,  however,  be  rash  to  assert  that  a  temple  was 
dedicated  to  Heracles  merely  because  he  appears  on  its 
metopes.  If,  then,  we  infer  that  the  identification  of  the 
"Theseum"  as  the  temple  of  Heracles  in  Melite  is  per- 
haps the  most  probable  among  the  attempts  that  have 
been  made  to  give  it  a  place  among  the  temples  re- 
corded in  Athens,  this  opinion  must  be  qualified  by 
the    reservation    that    it    is    quite    possible    no    classical 


THE  THESEUM,  THE  ASCLEPIEUM,  THE  THEATRE     425 

writer  has  happened  to  refer  to  this  temple  or  to 
record  its  name.  Such  a  conclusion  may  seem  unsatis- 
factory, but  it  is  better  than  the  assertion  of  cer- 
tainty where  certainty  is  unattainable  on  the  evidence 
before  us. 

In  the  Asclepieum  below  the  Acropolis,  though  little 
is  preserved  but  the  foundation,  the  identification  of  the 
site  is  not  doubtful,  and  its  arrangements  are  easy  to 
trace.  We  have  already  noticed1  that  there  existed  in 
early  Athens,  to  the  west  of  the  Theatre,  and  just  below 
the  rock  of  the  Acropolis,  a  sacred  spring  and  precinct 
probably  dedicated  to  some  deity  of  healing.  The 
position  is  well  adapted  for  the  purpose,  on  a  terrace 
below  the  south  wall  of  the  Acropolis,  where  it  was 
sheltered  from  the  cold  winds,  and  where  the  rock 
caught  and  retained  the  full  heat  of  the  sun.  For  the 
invalids  went  there  mostly  in  the  evening,  to  stay 
the  night  in  the  building  assigned  to  them.  The  wor- 
ship of  Asclepius  seems  to  have  been  introduced  into 
Athens  from  Epidaurus  sometime  during  the  Pelo- 
ponnesian  War,  and  to  have  found  a  home  in  this 
precinct. 

The  plan  of  the  buildings  which  it  contains  shows 
considerable  resemblance  to  that  of  the  precinct  of  the 
god  at  Epidaurus;  it  is  doubtless  partly  traditional,  partly 
dictated  by  the  necessities  of  the  healing  cult.  It  in- 
cludes propykea,  or  a  gate  of  entrance ;  a  cistern  to  hold 
the   water  for  the  preliminary  purification    outside   the 

1  p.  98,  above. 


426  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

precinct ;  a  temple x  and  altar  for  the  god ;  a  portico  or 
gallery  for  the  patients  to  sleep  in ;  and,  probably  as  a 
survival  from  earlier  times,  a  pit  of  sacrifice  and  a 
sacred  well  or  spring.  We  have  already  noticed  the 
sacred  spring  and  its  early  precinct ;  in  later  times  the 
little  cave  that  contained  it  was  entered  by  a  door  in 
the  back  of  the  portico.  The  pit  of  sacrifice,  built  of 
early  polygonal  masonry,  was  also  retained  at  the  back 
of  the  west  end  of  the  portico  and  on  a  higher  level ; 
it  was  covered  by  an  architectural  canopy  supported 
upon  four  columns,  of  which  the  bases,  in  black  Eleu- 
sinian  stone,  still  remain  in  situ  —  a  structure  analogous, 
though  much  simpler  in  design,  to  the  famous  Tholus 
of  Polyclitus,  or,  as  it  is  officially  called,  the  Thymele, 
at  Epidaurus.  Of  the  temple  and  the  altar  the  foun- 
dations only  remain ;  they  were  on  a  small  scale,  and 
probably  had  nothing  peculiar  about  their  design.  But 
the  characteristic  feature  of  the  precinct  is  the  por- 
tico in  which  the  invalids  slept.  This  backs  against  the 
rock  of  the  Acropolis.  Its  front,  for  about  a  quarter  of 
its  length,  was  an  open  colonnade ;  in  the  remaining  part 
there  was  a  wall  between  the  columns,  and  traces  of  a 
staircase  imply  that  there  was  also  a  second  floor.2  At 
the  east  end,  where  it  abuts  on  the  great  supporting  wall 

1  Or  possibly  two  temples;  the  repair  of  an  "  old  temple  "  is  mentioned  in  an  inscrip- 
tion of  Rinnan  date,  CIA.  II.  i.  Add.  4890. 

'-'  As  this  is  erroneously  given  on  many  plans,  it  is  well  to  notice  that  there  was 
originally  a  column  on  every  third  block  of  the  stylobate,  and  a  short  wall,  ending  in 
an  anta,  at  each  end.  There  weir  sixteen  columns  between  the  antx ;  the  closed 
part  began  at  the  twelfth  column,  reckoning  from  the  east  to  the  west  end. 


THE  THESEUM,  THE  ASCLEPIEUM,  THE  THEATRE     429 

of  the  Theatre,  there  is  a  narrow  space  partitioned  off 
from  the  rest  of  the  portico,  and  the  dado  of  marble, 
which  stretches  along  the  back,  is  not  continued  beyond 
this  partition.  There  is  a  similar  partition  at  the  end  of 
the  Abaton  or  portico  in  which  the  patients  slept  at 
Epidaurus,  and  the  purpose  in  both  cases  was  probably 
the  same — perhaps  to  form  a  den  for  the  sacred  snakes, 
which  were  let  loose  at  night  to  wander  among  the  inva- 
lids sleeping  in  the  portico.  We  have  in  the  Plutus  of 
Aristophanes  a  description  of  an  invalid's  visit  to  the  god, 
which  is  most  instructive  in  its  relation  to  the  extant  re- 
mains; for,  although  the  narrative  is  relieved  by  comic 
touches,  there  is  no  doubt  that  it  gives,  on  the  whole,  a 
truthful  description  of  what  usually  took  place.  The 
slave,  Karion,  relates  how  he  and  his  master  took  the  blind 
Plutus  to  consult  Asclepius.  First  of  all,  they  led  him 
to  the  Thalatta,  the  lustral  spring  or  cistern,  which  we 
can  still  trace  just  outside  the  western  boundary  of  the 
precinct,  and  there  performed  the  proper  ablutions. 
Then  they  entered  the  precinct  of  the  god,  and  offered 
cakes  and  other  oblations  on  the  altar;  they  put  Plutus 
to  bed  in  due  form,  and  many  others  were  there,  suffer- 
ing from  divers  diseases.  The  attendant  of  the  god 
came  and  put  out  the  lights,  and  bade  them  sleep, 
telling  them  if  they  heard  any  noise  to  keep  silence. 
So  they  all  lay  quiet.  But  the  slave,  who  kept  awake, 
saw  the  priest  going  round  gathering  the  cakes  and 
other  offerings  from  the  holy  table  and  other  altars. 
After  this  the   god  himself  appeared,  accompanied   by 


43Q  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

his  daughters,  Iaso  and  Panacea,  and  went  round  all  the 
cases  in  due  order ;  a  boy  attended  him  with  a  pestle 
and  mortar  and  a  box  of  simples.  When  he  came  to 
an  unworthy  suppliant,  he  put  on  him  a  stinging  plas- 
ter that  made  him  worse  than  before ;  but  when  Plutus' 
turn  came,  the  god  sat  down  beside  him  and  touched 
his  head,  and  then  took  a  clean  napkin  and  wiped  his 
eyes.  Panacea  covered  his  head  and  face  with  a  purple 
cloth ;  then  the  god  whistled,  and  two  gigantic  snakes 
came  from  the  temple,  and  crept  under  the  purple 
cloth  and  seemed  to  lick  his  eyes.  Then  immediately 
Plutus  rose  up  with  his  sight  restored,  and  the  god  and 
his  snakes  disappeared  into  the  temple.  And  all  the  in- 
valids who  were  sleeping  in  the  place  gathered  round  to 
congratulate  Plutus,  and  kept  awake  until  day  dawned. 

The  close  correspondence  between  this  passage  of  Aris- 
tophanes and  the  official  records  of  the  cures  at  Epi- 
daurus  !  shows  that  the  poet  is  following  pretty  closely 
the  actual  customs  of  the  ritual  of  Asclepius,  though  it 
is  possible  he  may  be,  intentionally  or  unintentionally, 
confusing  two  types  of  cure  which  seem  to  be  distinct  in 
the  official  lists  —  the  therapeutic  or  surgical,  and  the 
miraculous  or  "  faith-healing. "  The  regular  formula  at 
Epidaurus  is  "so  and  so,  suffering  from  such  and  such  a 
complaint,  came  and  slept  in  the  Abatonand  saw  a  dream 
or  vision.  The  god  or  a  snake  came  and  touched  the 
part  affected,  and,  when  day  dawned,  he  went  out  whole." 
There  are   numerous  varieties  of  detail :  sometimes,  for 

1  See  Cawadias,  Epidaure;  also  'E<p.  'A^X-  1883,  pp.  199;   1885,  pp.  1,  199. 


THE  THESEUM,  THE  ASCLEPIEUM,  THE  THEATRE     431 

instance,  it  is  a  clog  that  effects  the  cure;  sometimes  the 
patient  is  expressly  said  to  be  awake,  not  sleeping ;  and 
sometimes,  as  in  the  Plutus,  an  unworthy  applicant  is 
punished  for  his  presumption  in  approaching  the  god. 
But  two  or  three  things  seem  to  be  clear.  In  the  first 
place,  there  were  a  certain  number  of  genuine  "  miracu- 
lous" cures,  just  as  there  are  at  the  present  day,  probably 
for  the  most  part  in  nervous  diseases  or  hysterical  cases, 
at  the  festival  of  Tenos,  which  presents  many  analogies 
with  the  ancient  cult  of  Asclepius.  There  one  may  see, 
at  the  present  day,  on  the  feast  of  the  Annunciation,  the 
invalids  duly  put  to  bed  in  the  church  and  in  the  crypt 
below  it;  and  almost  every  year  there  are  instances 
of  visions  seen  in  the  night,  of  instantaneous  cures 
of  apparently  hopeless  cases,  and  of  crowds  flock- 
ing to  congratulate  the  subject  of  the  miracle.  The 
similarity  in  this  last  detail  is  most  interesting,  since  it 
shows  how,  in  modern  as  in  ancient  times,  the  many 
who  were  not  cured  could  forget  their  disappointment 
in  the  rejoicing  over  the  one  successful  case.  It  may  be 
that  the  visions  were  assisted  by  the  presence  of  actual 
snakes,  let  loose  for  the  purpose,  and  even  by  the 
priests'  impersonation  of  Asclepius  and  his  attendants  — 
a  deception  by  no  means  difficult  in  the  darkness  and  in 
the  atmosphere  of  faith.  But  there  is  little  doubt  that 
the  priests  of  Asclepius  in  many  places  acquired  also, 
by  tradition  and  experience,  considerable  skill  in  medi- 
cine and  surgery.  The  physician  Hippocrates  was  a 
member  of  the  priestly  family  of  the  Asclepiadaj  of  Cos. 


432  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

The  Asclepieum,  as  was  only  to  be  expected,  was  very 
rich  in  votive  offerings.  Inventories  of  these  have  sur- 
vived, as  well  as  a  certain  number  of  the  offerings  them- 
selves ;  one  of  the  poems  of  Herondas,  describing  a  visit 
to  the  Asclepieum  at  Cos,  shows  how  such  a  shrine  could 
develop  into  a  museum  of  works  of  art.  While  the 
Athenian  precinct  may  have  had  no  such  exceptional 
richness,  it  certainly  was  a  place  where  people  commonly 
resorted  to  view  the  offerings ;  else  it  would  not  have 
occurred  to  the  Mt^o^tXdrtjoto?  of  Theophrastus  to  make 
a  display  of  polishing  a  worthless  ring  he  had  dedicated 
there.  In  earlier  times  a  customary  offering  for  a  grate- 
ful patient  was  an  image  of  the  god  himself,  most  fre- 
quently a  relief,  in  which  he  was  represented  as  attended 
by  his  sons  and  daughters,  often  by  Iaso  and  Panacea; 
and  the  worshipper  and  his  family,  usually  on  a  smaller 
scale,  often  approach  him  with  suitable  offerings.  The 
representation  of  the  "  banquet  of  a  hero,"  which  is  com- 
mon on  tombstones,1  is  often  used  in  the  same  way  for 
Asclepius,  with  the  addition  of  worshippers  on  a  smaller 
scale.  Another  very  common  form  of  offering,  especially 
in  later  times,  was  a  relief  with  a  representation  of  the 
part  of  the  body  that  had  been  cured,  or  to  which  the 
god's  attention  was  requested  —  a  pair  of  eyes  or  ears  or 
breasts,  a  hand  or  a  leg.  Probably  such  offerings  were 
often  made  in  precious  metals  on  a  small  scale,  like  the 
similar  objects,  cut  out  of  silver  plate,  which  may  be  seen 
attached  to  the  sacred  pictures  in  many  Greek  churches 

1  Sue  i>.  471,  below. 


THE  THESEUM,  THE  ASCLEPIEUM,  THE  THEATRE     433 

at  the  present  clay.  Such  representations  were  not  usu- 
ally of  the  nature  of  pathological  models  —  though  some 
examples  to  the  contrary  are  known  ;  as  a  rule  the  dedi- 
cation showed  the  limb  or  member  in  its  normal  healthy 
state,  and  so  offended  neither  against  good  taste  nor 
against  religious  propriety. 

The  Theatre  of  Dionysus  is  situated  just  to  the  east 
of  the  Asclepieum ;  the  topmost  part  of  its  curve  is  actu- 
ally scarped  out  of  the  rock  of  the  Acropolis,  having  in 
the  midst  of  it  the  little  cave  faced  with  the  choragic 
monument  of  Thrasyllus.1  It  slopes  down  to  the  pre- 
cinct of  Dionysus  Eleuthereus,  where  there  already  ex- 
isted, at  least  from  the  time  of  Pisistratus,  if  not  earlier, 
the  small  temple  and  primitive  dancing-place  of  which 
we  have  already  noticed  the  remains."  We  do  not  know 
the  exact  date  at  which  the  performance  of  plays  was 
transferred  from  the  early  orchestra  in  the  Agora  to  the 
site  of  the  Great  Theatre ;  but  it  is  probable  that  most  of 
the  plays  of  the  great  Attic  dramatists  were  first  per- 
formed on  the  site  that  the  tradition  of  ancient  as 
well  as  of  modern  times  associated  with  them.  As  soon 
as  the  drama  had  attained  the  popularity  which  we  know 
it  possessed  at  Athens  in  the  fifth  century,  the  perform- 
ances cannot  well  have  been  held  except  in  a  place  where 
the  slope  of  the  ground  enabled  a  large  audience  to  as- 
semble and  to  have  a  good  view  of  the  actors  and  chorus. 
A  temporary  scaffolding,  such  as  appears  to  have  been 
used  at  first,  would  no  longer  suffice ;  and  so  recourse 

1  See  pp.  403-404,  above.  -  See  p.  122,  above. 

2  F 


434  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

would  be  had  to  the  slope  of  the  south  side  of  the  Acro- 
polis above  the  old  dancing-place.  It  is  possible  that  a 
tradition  of  the  change  is  preserved  in  the  story  that  in 
499  B.C.,  when  yEschylus  was,  perhaps  for  the  first  time, 
competing  for  the  prize  of  tragedy,  the  wooden  structure 
supporting  the  benches  of  the  spectators  gave  way,  dur- 
ing the  performance  of  a  play  by  Pratinas,  and  that  in 
consequence  a  permanent  theatre  was  built,  to  avoid  such 
accidents  for  the  future.  This  story  has  often  been 
quoted  as  evidence  for  the  age  of  the  present  stone  thea- 
tre; but  there  are  many  indications,  both  in  the  materials 
and  in  the  technique  of  the  construction,  which  show  that 
so  early  a  date  is  impossible.  The  later  limit  of  date  is 
fixed  by  a  decree  in  honour  of  Lycurgus,  which  mentions 
the  Theatre  of  Dionysus  among  the  buildings  which  Ly- 
curgus completed,  having  found  them  in  an  unfinished 
state.  This  last  statement  has  given  rise  to  a  consider- 
able variety  of  interpretation  ;  while,  on  the  one  hand,  it 
clearly  shows  that  the  Theatre  in  its  present  state1  cannot 
date  from  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century,  it  shows 
equally  clearly,  on  the  other  hand,  that  the  general  de- 
sign of  the  Theatre  must  belong  to  an  earlier  age  than 
that  of  Lycurgus.  Beyond  this,  there  is  really  not  much 
to  be  inferred  from  the  inscription  ;  it  certainly  does  not 
justify  the  conclusion  that  the  Theatre,  as  we  now  see  it, 
belongs  essentially  to  the  time  of  Lycurgus.  We  are, 
therefore,  obliged  to  rely  on  architectural  evidence  for  the 

i   1 1,,,  hn  ans,  of  i  ourse,  aparl  from  lain-  changes  and  modifications,  as  to  which 
all  authorities  are   prai  I  ii  all)    agreed. 


—         V 
,—  T. 

r-      3 


THE  THESEUM,  THE  ASCLEPIEUM,  THE  THEATRE     435 

date,  both  of  the  auditorium  and  of  the  earliest  stage- 
buildings.  With  these  we  may  conveniently  associate 
the  later  temple,  since  we  have,  in  its  case,  external  evi- 
dence available  as  to  its  date. 

There  are  the  remains  of  two  successive  temples  of 
Dionysus  in  the  precinct  below  the  Theatre.  The  earlier 
and  smaller  of  these  belongs,  in  all  probability,  to  the 
time  of  Pisistratus.  The  later  was  built  to  contain  the 
gold  and  ivory  statue  of  the  god  by  Alcamenes.  This 
latter  building  is  of  considerable  importance  to  the 
technical  history  of  architecture  in  Athens.  Its  founda- 
tions only  are  preserved,  but  these  are  of  conglomerate 
or  breccia,  and  probably  show  the  earliest  occurrence  of 
this  material  in  a  building  that  can  be  at  least  approxi- 
mately dated.  The  artistic  activity  of  Alcamenes  lasts 
from  the  age  of  Phidias  to  the  end  of  the  fifth  century ; 
but  it  is  very  improbable  that  the  Athenians  would  have 
been  able,  during  the  latter  part  of  the  Peloponnesian 
War  or  the  few  years  that  followed  it,  to  dedicate  a 
statue  of  such  expensive  materials,  and  on  a  colossal 
scale.  On  the  other  hand,  none  of  the  buildings  of  the 
Periclean  age  show  any  use  of  breccia  for  foundations. 
The  temple  of  Dionysus  must,  therefore,  in  all  prob- 
ability, belong  to  some  time  between  the  Peace  of  Nicias 
in  421  b.c.  and  the  start  of  the  disastrous  Sicilian  expedi- 
tion in  415  b.c1     And,  if  so,  there  is  no  reason  for  deny- 

1  Professor  Dorpfeld,  Gr.  Theater,  p.  22,  suggests  a  later  date,  early  in  the  fourth 
century  ;  hut  this  is  not  easy  to  reconcile  with  the  rjr.cjba.ble,  dates  of  the  career  of 
Alcamenes. 


436  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

ing  that   the  stone  theatre  also  may  have  been  begun 
about  the  same  time. 

If  we  accept  this  as  the  most  probable  conclusion,  — 
and  it  must  be  remembered  that,  while  the  extant  Theatre 
may  be  later,  it  cannot  well  be  earlier  than  the  date  just 
suggested,  —  it  follows  that  all  the  plays  of  ^Eschylus,  the 
majority  of  those  of  Sophocles  and  Euripides,  and  the 
earlier  ones  of  Aristophanes,  were  all  performed  in 
an  earlier  structure,  of  which  nothing  is  left  except, 
perhaps,  the  circle  of  the  orchestra  and  some  traces  of 
foundation  in  the  western  parodos.1  The  extant  remains 
are  deprived  by  this  fact  of  a  considerable  part  of  their 
interest,  both  from  the  archaeological  and  from  the 
purely  sentimental  point  of  view.  The  arrangements 
for  the  performances  of  the  Attic  drama  in  its  greatest 
days  remain  to  a  great  extent  a  matter  of  inference  or 
conjecture.  It  seems  probable,  however,  that  even  then 
the  natural  slope  of  the  hill  was  supplemented,  at  least 
on  the  wings,  by  artificial  substructures.  The  old  circle 
of  the  orchestra  may  still  have  remained  in  use,  and 
on  the  side  away  from  the  hill  a  temporary  booth,  or 
scena,  may  have  been  erected  when  required.  The 
front  of  this  had  already  received  some  architectural 
form  and  decoration,  to  make  it  suitable  to  serve  as 
the  palace  front  already  conventionally  adopted  as 
the  usual  tragic  background  ;  whether  or  not  there 
was  any  platform  or  stage:  erected  in  front  of  it  for 
the   actors   to   mount   upon    is   a  question   of   which    the 

1  Marked  "  foundations  <>f  passage  "  in  plan. 


Plan   of  the  Dionysiac     Theatre 

Ac 


THE  THESEUM,  THE  ASCLEPIEUM,    I  III:  TIIKATRE     437 

answer  depends  on  the  whole  issue  of  the  controversy 
as  to  whether  there  was  or  was  not  a  raised  stage  in 
the  Greek  theatre  —  a  controversy  which  it  is  impos- 
sible even  to  summarise  here,  though  a  few  words 
more  must  be  said  about  it  after  we  have  considered 
the  extant  remains  of  stage  buildings  in  the  Theatre  of 
Dionysus.  Whether  we  are  investigating  the  auditorium 
or  the  stage  buildings  of  this  Theatre,  we  must  always 
remember  that  it  originated  in  a  natural  hillside  sloping 
down  to  an  old  dancing-place,  that  it  was  only  gradually 
adapted  by  artificial  improvements  to  its  later  purpose, 
and  that  it  served  as  the  prototype  from  which  all  other 
ancient  theatres  were  more  or  less  directly  imitated. 
It  would  therefore  be  superfluous,  at  least  in  the  case  of 
the  earlier  buildings,  to  look  for  either  regularity  of  plan 
or  for  conformity  to  the  rules  about  the  construction 
and  proportions  of  theatres  that  were  deduced  by  later 
theoretical  architects  from  a  study  of  extant  examples. 
In  the  case  of  the  auditorium  the  irregularity  of  shape  is 
most  marked.  The  orchestra  is,  it  is  true,  of  one  of  the 
normal  forms  —  a  semicircle  prolonged  by  tangents  on 
each  wing;  but  the  great  retaining  wall  has  a  shape 
which  is  evidently  dictated  by  no  consideration  except 
the  necessity  of  getting  seats  for  as  many  people  as 
possible  into  the  available  space.  At  the  top  the  rock 
of  the  Acropolis  is  scarped  in  an  irregular  curve,  and  at 
the  bottom  of  the  scarp  are  some  seats  cut  in  the  solid 
rock.  On  the  west  side  the  curve  of  the  scaip  is  con- 
tinued round  for  some  distance,  and   then   the  extreme 


43» 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


wing  is  continued  by  a  straight  line  running  out  at  an 
angle  from  the  end  of  the  curve;1  on  the  east  side, 
which  is  not  so  well  preserved,  the  shape  appears  to  have 
been  even  more  irregular.  The  massive  retaining  walls 
are  built  of  a  core  of  breccia,  faced  on  the  outside  with  a 
casine  of  Piraic  limestone.  The  auditorium  seems  to 
have  been  divided  into  an  upper  and  lower  portion  by  a 
road  which  ran  round  it,  following  the  curve  of  the 
seats.  This  road  emerged  by  the  passage  still  visible 
just  to  the  south  of  the  Asclepieum,  and  served  the 
purpose  that  was  fulfilled  by  the  diazoma  in  other 
theatres.  In  the  upper  part  of  the  theatre  the  seats 
have  now  almost  entirely  disappeared,  and  so  it  is  im- 
possible to  judge  either  of  their  appearance  or  of  the 
acoustic  properties  of  the  building ;  those 
who  wish  to  judge  of  either  of  these 
must  go  to  Epidaurus,  where  the  theatre 
built  by  Polyclitus  is  not  only  harmoni- 
ous and  beautiful  in  its  lines  to  a  degree 
that  must  be  seen  to  be  appreciated,  but 
so  admirably  adapted  to  its  purpose  that 
a  conversation  in  an  ordinary  voice  can 
be  heard  with  ease  over  a  space  that  would  contain  about 
seventeen  thousand  people.  The  theatre  at  Athens  is 
larger;  Plato's  estimate  of  thirty  thousand  is  probably 
only  meant   for  a  rough   approximation,  but  it   has  been 

1  Into  this  south-west  corner  is  built  a  stone  with  an  inscription  which  lias  been 

quoted  as  evidei I  date;   bul  the  forms  of  the  letters  are  so  abnormal  as  to  give 

no  certain    indication.     They   could    will   lu-    earlier  than   any  date  to  which   the 
I  h<  aire  can  be  assigned  with  probability. 


Athenian  Coin. 

View  of  Theatre,  with 
caves  above  it,  and 
Acropolis. 


THE  THESEUM,  THE  ASCLEPIEUM,  THE  THEATRE     439 

calculated  that  it  could  have  seated  at  least  twenty 
thousand  people.  Though  its  acoustic  properties  have 
suffered  considerably  from  the  loss  of  the  intermediate 
seats,  they  are  still  good;  and  it  cannot  be  supposed 
that  the  democratic  audiences  of  Athens  would  have 
tolerated  any  performance  which  was  not  audible 
throughout    the    building. 

The  seats  are  divided,  at  least  in  the  lower  part,  into 
thirteen  wedges,  separated  by  twelve  staircases,  the 
steps  of  the  staircases  being  sloped,  so  that  only  (me 
step  is  required  for  each  tier  of  seats.  The  ordinary 
seats  are  made  of  single  blocks,  the  surface  of  each 
being  divided  into  three  parts:  the  front,  slightly  raised 
to  form  the  seat  itself;  the  middle,  sunk  to  offer  space 
for  the  feet  of  the  spectator  in  the  seat  above ;  and 
the  back  part,  serving  as  a  support  to  the  next  seat 
behind.  The  seats  are  also  divided  transversely,  by 
cuts  in  their  front  surface,  so  as  to  define  the  space 
allowed  for  each  spectator  ;  this  is  only  about  thirteen 
inches.  It  seems  at  first  sight  a  very  small  allow- 
ance ; ]  but  we  must  remember  that  in  the  open  air 
crowding-  would  be  less  intolerable;  and  that,  when  there 
was  only  a  single  performance  of  each  play,  and  conse- 
quently everybody  who  wished  to  see  it  must  attend  that 

1  Cf.  Schultz,  Megalopolis,  p.  42:  "As  this  allowance  of  13  inches  per  person 
seems  at  first  sight  so  absurdly  small,  I  have  made  inquiries  with  regard  to  the 
minimum  space  usually  calculated  for  each  person  in  a  modern  London  theatre.  I 
am  informed  that,  although  the  minimum  space  per  person,  recognised  by  the  County 
Council,  is  iS  inches,  as  a  matter  of  practice,  theatre  managers  find  that,  in  the  pit 
and  gallery,  where  the  seats  have  no  dividing  arms,  people  can  be  got  to  occupy  as 
small  a  space  as  14  inches  per  person,  and  that  16  inches  is  a  good  allowance." 


440 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


one  performance,  it  was  necessary  to  put  up  with  some 
discomfort  in  order  to  enable  as  many  as  possible  to  be 
present.  We  know  that  the  Athenians  in  other  matters, 
such  as  the  length  or  continuity  of  the  performances,  were 
capable  of  enduring  what  would  seem  intolerable  even 
to  the  most  enthusiastic  audiences  of  the  present  day. 
The  lowest  row  of  seats  consisted  of  thrones,  not 
continuous  benches,  as  at  Epidaurus,  Megalopolis,  and 
elsewhere,  but  separate  seats,  like  solid  marble  chairs, 
placed  side  by  side,  sometimes  two  or  three  carved  out  of 
a  single  block.  Here  there  was  no  lack  of  space  or  dig- 
nity. All  have  the  graceful  curve  of  back  and  legs  with 
which  we  are  familiar  in  the  wooden  chairs  represented 
on  Greek  vases  of  the  best  period.  The  central  throne 
of  the  central  block  not  only  has  arms  as  well  as  back, 
but   is   ornamented   with   carving  in   low  relief.     Below 

the  seat,  in  front,  are 
conventional  groups  of 
Gryphons  fighting  with 
Arimaspi ;  on  the  back  are 
Satyrs  in  the  attitude  of 
supporting  figures,  treated 
with  a  slight  touch  of 
archaism  that  suits  their 
decorative  purpose.  But 
the  most  beautiful  piece  of  work  is  on  the  outside  of 
the  arms.  Here  we  see  on  each  side  a  most  graceful 
winged  Eros,  kneeling  to  set  a  cock  to  fight;  the  relief 
is  of  the  most  admirably  delicate  execution  and  design, 


Middle  Bl 


i if  Fr( >m  Seats  in  the 
I  in  vire. 


THE  THESEUM,    THE  ASCLEPIEUM,  THE  THEATRE     441 

and  it  is  impossible  to  assign  it  to  a  later  date  than  the 
fourth  century.  We  may  safely  infer  that  these  thrones, 
if  they  were  not  already  there  before  the  time  of 
Lycurgus,  were  part  of  the  work  contributed  by  him  to 
the  completion  of  the  theatre. 

In  front  of  the  thrones  is  a  broad  gangway,  sloping 
gently  toward  the  orchestra,  and  serving  to  give  access 
not  only  to  the  thrones  themselves  but  also  to  the  stair- 
cases that  led  up  between  them.  This  gangway  is,  on 
its  inner  edge,  raised  one  step  above  the  orchestra  level ; 
and  against  this  edge  has  been  fixed,  in  Roman  times,  a 
row  of  vertical  slabs,  with  the  marks  of  a  metal  grating 
fixed  above  them;  these  slabs  have  no  relation  to  the 
legitimate  use  of  the  Theatre,  but  were  placed  there  to 
give  protection  to  the  audience  at  the  performance  of 
gladiatorial  or  other  shows,  and,  according  to  some 
authorities,  to  contain  also  the  water  with  which  the  or- 
chestra could  be  flooded  on  occasion,  to  serve  for  mimic 
sea-fights  and  other  aquatic  displays.  We  must  then 
imagine  the  slabs  as  absent  in  an  attempt  to  realise  the 
appearance  of  the  Theatre  as  it  was  in  the  fourth  cen- 
tury. Without  them,  the  effect  is  much  more  spacious 
and  dignified.  Between  the  gangway  and  the  orchestra 
runs  a  deep  channel,  such  as  is  always  necessary  in  the- 
atres to  carry  off  the  water  that  falls  within  an  uncovered 
building  of  so  extensive  an  area ;  it  is  emptied  by  means 
of  a  drain  that  runs  beneath  the  scena  to  the  south-east. 
The  channel  is  bridged  over  by  slabs  that  gave  access  to 
the  foot  of   the  various  staircases ;    spaces  were  left  at 


442 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


Theatre  and  Olympieum  from  Acropolis. 

The  foundations  of  the  various  stages  are  visible. 

intervals  between  these  slabs  to  admit  the  water.  The 
slabs  with  perforated  drain  holes  in  them  that  now  serve 
the  same  purpose  are  of  Roman  date,  probably  contem- 
porary with  the  paving  of  the  orchestra  in  blue  and  white 
marble.     The  orchestra  of  Greek  times  consisted  prob- 


THE  THESEUM,  THE  ASCLEPIEUM,  THE  THEATRE     443 

ably,  like  that  at  Epidaurus,  merely  of  hardened  earth. 
A  small  altar  may  have  been  placed  at  the  same  time  as 
the  pavement  in  the  centre  of  the  orchestra,  but  the  con- 
ventional opinion  that  the  thymele  always  occupied  this 
position  in  Greek  theatres  rests  on  no  satisfactory  evi- 
dence. The  earthen  floor  of  the  orchestra  was  probably 
on  a  level  with  the  sill  that  borders  the  surrounding 
channel.  But  this  sill  was  not  continued,  as  at  Epidau- 
rus, so  as  to  form  a  complete  circle ;  indeed,  the  shape  of 
the  lowest  tier  of  seats  at  Athens  would  be  ill  adapted  to 
such  an  arrangement. 

The  stage  buildings  in  the  Theatre  are  far  from  easy 
to  trace  on  the  spot.  The  published  plans  of  the  building 
give  a  fairly  accurate  notion  of  what  may  now  be  seen, 
but,  in  order  to  be  intelligible,  they  require  to  be  supple- 
mented by  a  more  detailed  plan  of  the  earliest  extant 
scena,  as  shown  by  excavations  that  are  now  filled  in 
again,  and  as  restored  by  architectural  inferences.  The 
extant  remains  of  this  scena  consist  only  of  its  foun- 
dations, constructed  of  breccia ;  these  take  the  form  of 
a  long  rectangular  hall,  with  a  square  projection  into 
each  parodos  opposite  the  border  of  the  orchestra;  this 
hall  backs  against  a  long  stoa,  constructed  of  similar 
material,  as  far  as  its  foundations  are  concerned.  In  the 
middle  of  its  back  wall  is  a  very  massive  projecting  block 
of  masonry.  The  foundations  of  the  wall  facing  the 
orchestra  (20)  and  of  the  projecting  wings  (22)  are  very 
wide  —  wider  than  is  necessary  to  carry  an  ordinary  wall 
or  a  row  of  small  columns,  such  as  those  still  standing  in 


444  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

the  Theatre.  As  to  the  restoration  of  the  building  resting 
on  these  foundations,  there  are  two  main  theories:  the 
one,  that  of  Professor  Dbrpfeld,1  asserting  that  no  stage 
need  be  assumed,  and  that  we  need  only  look  for  a  back- 
ground for  actors  on  the  level  of  the  orchestra;  the  other, 
recently  advocated  with  much  ingenuity  by  Professor 
Puchsteiiv  assuming  that  a  stage  is  probable,  and 
accordingly  regarding  the  restoration  of  the  first  floor 
of  the  building,  not  of  that  on  a  level  with  the  orchestra, 
as  the  essential  matter.  The  two  alternative  restorations 
given  in  the  plan  will  suffice  to  make  clear  the  points  at 
issue.  But  before  we  can  discuss  them  we  must  notice 
another  portion  of  the  extant  structures  that  is  brought 
into  this  connection  by  Professor  Dorpfeld.  This  is  a 
narrow  stylobate  of  Hymettus  marble,  with  traces  of 
columns  upon  it,  and  with  the  shafts  of  some  columns 
still  standing.  This  stylobate  is  shown  in  the  general 
plan  of  the  Theatre  (23  and  21),  where  it  now  exists, 
about  ten  feet  in  front  of  the  breccia  foundations  of  the 
scena,  where  they  face  the  orchestra,  and  continued  in  a 
slightly  projecting  wing  on  each  side,  above  the  project- 
ing; wing  of  the  breccia  foundation,  but  well  within 
its  front.  The  stylobate  corresponds  pretty  closely  in 
position  and  plan  to  the  similar  stylobate  at  Epidaurus, 
and  there  is  practically  no  dispute  as  to  the  restoration 
of  the  structure  that  rested  upon  it  —  a  column-fronted 
proscenium,  such  as  has  been  found  in  almost  all  later 
Greek    theatres,   and   of    the   proportions   prescribed   by 

1  Das  griechische  Theater.  a  Die  griechische  Btihne, 


I 

s 

c   e    n 

a 

EXTANT  FOUNDATIONS  -  ORCHESTRA  LEVEL. 


DORPFELD'S  RESTORATION 


PUCHSTEIN'S  RESTORATION  -  FIRST  FLOOR  LEVEL. 

SCENA  OF  THEATRE. 


THE  THESEUM,  THE  ASCLEPIEUM,  THE  THEATRE     445 

Vitruvius.  Even  this  question,  however,  is  not  so  simple 
as  it  appears  at  first  sight;  for  the  stylobate  has,  in 
addition  to  the  traces  of  the  columns  that  stood  upon  it 
as  now  fitted  together,  traces  of  another  set  of  columns 
differently  spaced;  and  Professor  Dorpfeld  has  shown 
that,  according  to  the  earlier  intercolumniation,  it  is 
possible  to  restore  the  original  arrangement  of  the  slabs 
of  the  stylobate  in  such  a  manner  as  to  make  them  fit 
exactly  on  to  the  front  portion  of  the  broad  breccia  foun- 
dation facing  the  orchestra,  and  also  to  make  them  run 
out  at  both  sides  over  the  projecting  wings  of  this 
breccia  foundation.  The  columns,  according  to  this 
arrangement,  are  not  evenly  spaced,  but  have  broader 
intercolumniations  opposite  the  three  doors  in  the  wall, 
which  Professor  Dorpfeld  restores  as  standing  on  the 
back  part  of  the  breccia  foundation  in  its  central  portion. 
On  the  wings  he  restores  the  columns  as  standing  out 
free. 

Two  very  obvious  objections  raised  by  Professor 
Puchstein  against  this  restoration  are  that  it  is  unlikely 
that  the  foundation  would  have  been  made  so  broad 
on  the  wings  if  it  had  been  originally  intended  to  carry 
only  this  narrow  stylobate,  and  that  the  effect  of 
columns  standing  close  to  a  wall  in  the  middle,1  and 
standing  free  on  the  wings,  would  be  very  awkward ; 
he  also  points  out  that  the  exact   fitting  of   the  stylo- 

1  Professor  Puchstein  goes  so  far  as  to  say  that  columns  set  immediately  in  front 
of  a  wall  are  unknown  to  Greek  architecture  of  good  period.  But  such  general 
statements  are  always  hazardous,  since  they  may  any  day  be  upset  by  a  new  dis- 
covery. 


446  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

bate   to   the  foundation   is   a  less    convincing   piece   of 
evidence   than  it   appears,  since  a  considerable  margin 
for  error  is  allowed  by  the  breadth  of  the  foundation. 
These  technical   points   will   probably  weigh  less   with 
most  of  us  than  more  general  considerations  as  to  the 
probabilities    of    the    case,    and    the    analogy    of    other 
theatres.      Wherever   elsewhere    we   find  a  proscenium 
faced  with  low  columns,  it  stands  far  enough  out  from 
the  wall   of    the   seen  a  to  enable   a  platform  some  ten 
feet  wide    to    rest    on    the    top   of   it;    and   it   therefore 
seems    improbable  that  at  Athens  the  prototype  of  all 
theatres    should    have    had    its    proscenium    differently 
constructed,    though    similar    in    appearance    from    the 
front.     Such    a   form    would    be    more    suitable    for  an 
imitation    of    a   conventional    arrangement.       However, 
those  who  are  convinced  that  Professor  Dorpfeld  is  right 
in   denying  altogether  the  existence  of  a  stage  in  the 
normal  Greek  theatre,  and  in  asserting  that  the  column- 
front  proscenium   of   later   times   was   used   as  a    back- 
ground for  actors   in   the  orchestra,    not  as  a  platform 
for  them  to  stand  upon,  will  do  well  to  accept  also  his 
restoration  of  the  earliest  permanent  stage  buildings  at 
Athens.     Those,    on    the    other    hand,    who    think    the 
evidence  clear    that  the  proscenium,   about   twelve  feet 
high    and   ten   feet   wide,   which   exists   in    most   Greek 
theatres,     was     used    as    a    platform     or    stage    for    the 
actors   to   stand   on,   will    naturally   look   for  something 
analogous    at    Athens.     And    there    is    no   difficulty   in 
restoring  the  earliest  extant  stage  building  at   Athens 


THE  THESEUM,  THE  ASCLEPIEUM,   THE   THEATRE     447 

according  to  their  views.  The  space  between  the  pro- 
jecting wings  of  the  foundation  would  serve  very  con- 
veniently for  the  erection  of  a  temporal)-  wooden 
platform,  such  as  is  probable  as  the  predecessor  of  the 
later  stone  proscenium,  and  such  as  is  implied  by  the 
foundations  of  a  wooden  structure  found  at  Megalo- 
polis,1 at  Sicyon,  at  Segesta,  and  elsewhere.  A  prob- 
able form  for  such  a  stage  is  suggested  in  Professor 
Puchstein's  restoration  ;  it  would  be  entered,  not  only 
from  the  back,  by  the  usual  three  doors,  but  also  by 
side  doors  from  the  projecting  wings  or  parascenia.  If 
this  view  be  correct  in  the  main,  it  will  follow  that  the 
proscenium  with  marble  columns  is  not  contemporary 
with  the  breccia  foundations  of  the  earliest  stas:e  build- 
ings,  but  is  of  somewhat  later  origin.  It  has  also  been 
shifted  from  the  position  where  it  was  at  first  placed, 
and  has  had  its  blocks  and  the  columns  upon  it 
rearranged. 

We  are  now  in  a  position  to  realise  the  chronological 
results  of  the  architectural  and  other  evidence,  and  of  the 
various  theories  that  are  based  upon  it.  Professor  Dorp- 
feld  regards  the  whole  of  the  earliest  extant  scena, 
foundation,  stylobate,  and  columns  alike,  as  belonging 
to  one  time,  and  that  the  time  of  Lycurgus,  the  stylobate 
and  columns  having  merely  been  shifted  at  a  later  date. 
According  to  this  view,  we  have  no   monumental    evi- 

1  My  own  previous  view  of  a  low  wooden  proscenium,  as  suggested  at  Megalo- 
polis, I  do  not  now  think  probable,  in  view  of  the  analogy  of  other  theatres.  It 
seems  more  likely  that  the  wooden  proscenium  at  Megalopolis  was  of  the  usual 
height,  ten  feet  or  so,  and  that  a  temporary  scena  was  erected  behind  it. 


448  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

dence  earlier  than  about  33S  b.c.  as  to  the  structure  of 
the  Theatre,  and  must  depend,  for  the  greater  part  of  the 
fourth  as  well  as  for  the  fifth  century,  entirely  on  in- 
ferences from  extant  plays  and  from  probability  or  from 
later  tradition.  We  have,  however,  seen  that  the  evidence 
does  not  compel  us  to  adopt  so  extreme  a  view.  Lycur- 
gus  only  finished  what  others  had  begun,  and  there  seems 
to  be  no  insuperable  difficulty  in  assigning  the  main  plan 
of  the  extant  buildings  to  about  the  same  time  as  the 
later  temple  of  Dionysus  —  perhaps  as  early  as  420  B.C. 
If  this  be  the  case,  then  we  have  actually  some  remains 
of  the  stage  on  which  the  plays  of  Sophocles,  and  Eurip- 
ides, and  Aristophanes  were  first  produced.  What  re- 
mains from  so  early  a  date  can,  however,  be  nothing  but 
the  foundation  of  the  stage  building;  the  superstructure 
was  probably  a  temporary  erection  of  wood,  and  we  can 
only  recover  its  nature  by  probable  conjecture.  The  stone 
proscenium  which  was  later  substituted  for  the  wooden 
one  may  be  the  work  of  Lycurgus,  but  its  shifting  into 
its  present  position  most  probably  belongs  to  a  later  age; 
its  original  position  may  probably  enough  have  been 
nearer  to  the  lines  of  its  wooden  predecessor. 

The  last  few  pages  have  necessarily  been  concerned 
with  controversial  matters.  The  divergent  theories  as 
to  the  existence  or  the  absence  of  a  stage  platform  in  the 
Greek  theatre  are  now  so  familiar  to  scholars  and  even 
to  the  general  reader  that  they  cannot  be  ignored;  yet  it 
is  impossible  here  to  give  an  adequate  summary  of 
the   arguments   that   have   been  adduced   on  either  side. 


THE  THESEUM,  THE  ASCLEPEIUM,  THE  THEATRE     449 


All  that  can  be  done  is  to  note  that  each  opinion  is  held 
by  many  scholars  whose  authority  is  entitled  to  respect ; 
accordingly  the  evidence  offered  by  the  extant  remains 
of  the  Theatre  of  Dionysus  has  been  stated  in  its  rela- 
tion to  each  theory  respectively;  the  interpretation  that 
each  reader  will 
prefer  will  depend 
mainly  on  his 
views  on  t  h  e 
larger  question. 
At  the  same  time, 
it  is  only  fair  to 
state  my  o w n 
opinion  that  the 
use  of  the  raised 
proscenium  or 
\oyeiov  as  a  stage 
for  the  actors  is 
established  by 
very  clear  evi- 
dence in  the  case 
of  the  later  Greek 
theatre,  and  this  analogy  would  lead  one  to  expect  some 
such  platform  in  the  Greek  theatre  of  earlier  times  also. 
The  changes  of  the  Theatre  in  later  times,  though 
they  have  led  to  considerable  modifications  in  its  appear- 
ance, are  neither  so  puzzling  to  the  investigator  nor  so 
fruitful  of  controversy  as  those  of  earlier  date.  Among 
the   various  stage  decorations,   the    graceful    figures    of 

2G 


of  Messrs.  A.  \V.  Manstll  &  Sons. 

Relief  from  Theatre. 
Dancin?  eiri. 


45o  ANCIENT  ATHENS 

dancing  girls  probably  belong  to  a  good  Greek  period, 
rather  than  to  a  Roman  imitation  of  Attic  work.  The 
Theatre  seems  to  have  remained  much  as  it  was,  but 
for  the  shifting  of  the  stone  proscenium,  until  Roman 
times.  There  remain  various  architectural  fragments, 
consisting  of  arcades,  pillars  faced  with  semicolumns, 
and  supporting  figures  of  Satyrs  and  Sileni  which  ap- 
pear to  belong  to  a  decorated  scena ;  and  one  of  these 
has  an  inscription  referring  to  Nero.  The  emperors 
visit  to  Athens  may  probably  have  been  the  occasion 
of  its  erection  ;  to  the  same  time  may  in  all  probability 
be  assigned  the  sculptured  frieze  still  visible  in  the 
orchestra ;  and,  if  this  frieze  was  originally  placed  as  in 
the  later  structure  that  now  contains  it,  on  the  front  of 
the  stage  facing  the  orchestra,  the  stage  must  have  been 
of  Roman,  not  of  Greek  type,  and  have  consisted  of  a 
broad,  low  platform.  Another  trace  of  this  same  stage 
may  probably  be  recognised  in  the  row  of  blocks  of 
Piraic  limestone  that  are  set  close  against  the  breccia 
foundation  of  the  front  of  the  scena;  they  were  prob- 
ably placed  there  in  order  to  make  the  foundation  broad 
enough  to  carry  the  scena  of  Roman  times,  with  its  pro- 
jecting architectural  decorations. 

Further  changes  were  introduced  in  the  time  of 
Hadrian,  but  mainly,  so  far  as  we  can  tell,  in  the  audi- 
torium. Statues  of  the  emperor  were  set  up  in  each  of 
the  wedges  of  seats,  and  a  small  platform  to  carry  his 
throne  was  erected  in  the  central  wedire. 

The  latest  stage,  and  the  most  conspicuous  one  at  the 


THE  THESEUM,  THE  ASCLEPIEUM,  THE  THEATRE     451 


present  clay,  was  constructed  by  an  archon  named 
Phaedrus,  probably  sometime  in  the  third  century  a.d.  ; 
his  inscription  is  rudely  carved  on  the  top  step  of  the 
short  stair  that  leads  from  the  orchestra  to  the  top  of  the 
platform.  The  relief  facing  this  stage,  which  is  too  well 
executed  to  be- 
long to  such  an 
age,  and  has  been 
mutilated  to  fit  it 
to  its  present  use, 
was  probably  pre- 
pared, as  has  been 
said  above,  for  the 
stage  of  Nero's 
time;  it  repre- 
sents on  one  panel 
the  birth  of  Dio- 
nysus, who  is  held 
by  Hermes  in 
front  of  his  father, 
Zeus ;  on  another 
a  rustic  sacrifice 
to  the  god;  and  on  the  third  a  subject  of  doubtful 
interpretation,  but  probably  allegorical. 

Behind  the  scena  is  a  great  portico,  facing  the  precinct 
below;  it  is  clearly  a  part  of  the  same  design  as  the 
scena,  and  is  probably  contemporary  with  it ;  its  founda- 
tions also  are  of  breccia.  The  stylobate  and  columns 
and  the  facing  of  the  back  of  the  portico  were  of  bluish 


By  permission  of  Messrs.  A.  W.  Mansell  &  Sons. 

Relief  from  Theatre. 
Dancing  girl. 


452  ANCIENT  ATHENS 

Hymettus  marble,  a  material  frequently  used  in  the  fourth 
century,  though  hardly  at  all  in  the  fifth.  This  portico 
ma}-  well  have  been  one  of  the  things  finished  by 
Lycurgus ;  not  being  necessary  for  the  performance  of 
plays,  it  might  well  be  left  to  the  last.  It  doubtless 
served  the  purpose  assigned  by  Vitruvius  to  porticoes 
near  a  theatre,  to  give  shelter  to  the  audience  in  case  of 
a  sudden  shower ;  the  same  purpose  would  be  served  also 
by  the  adjoining  Stoa  of  Eumenes,  when  it  was  built. 

The  Theatre  was  not  used  only  for  dramatic  perform- 
ances. So  convenient  a  place  of  assembly,  when  ready 
for  use,  soon  came  to  supersede  the  Pnyx  as  a  place  for 
the  meetings  of  the  Ecclesia,  or  general  body  of  citizens ; 
and  iu  Aiovvcrov  or  eV  tw  Oedrpco  is  sometimes  added  to 
the  preamble  of  decrees  in  the  fourth  century  and  later. 
At  first  perhaps,  as  in  recorded  instances,  these  assem- 
blies were  to  deal  with  matters  concerning  the  state 
worship  of  Dionysus,  but  other  matters  of  public  interest 
soon  came  to  be  included  ;  thus  the  crown  given  to 
Demosthenes,  the  subject  of  the  two  famous  speeches  of 
the  orator  and  of  his  rival  /Eschines,  was  ordered  to  be 
presented  to  him  in  the  Theatre  at  the  time  of  the  Great 
Dionysia. 

The  precinct  below  the  Theatre  as  well  as  the  Theatre 
itself  were  thus  places  of  resort,  both  at  the  Dionysiac 
festivals  and  at  other  times,  and  so  became  a  favourite 
place  for  setting  up  the  statues,  not  only  of  famous 
dramatic  poets,  but  also  of  many  poetasters,  whose 
fame  seemed  even  to  the  Greeks  themselves  inadequate 


THE  THESEUM,  THE  ASCLEPIEUM,    THE  THEATRE     453 

to  justify  such  an  honour.  It  is  probable  that  the 
statues  which  we  possess  of  Sophocles,  Euripides,  and 
Menander  are  derived  from  the  statues  set  up  in  the 
Theatre,  though  Pausanias  himself  remarks  that  the 
portrait    of    /Eschylus    was    not    a    contemporary    one. 


By  permission  of  Messrs.  A.  W.  Mansell  &  Sons. 

Sculptured  Frieze,  supporting  Later  Stage  in  Theatre. 

In  fact,  Lycurgus  proposed  the  erection  of  statues  to 
/Eschylus,  Sophocles,  and  Euripides  in  the  Theatre. 
There  were  also  in  the  Theatre  statues  of  Miltiades 
and  Themistocles,  each  with  a  Persian  captive  beside 
him.  The  most  important  works  of  art  recorded  by 
Pausanias  in  the  precinct,  besides  the  colossal  gold 
and  ivory  statue  of  the  god  by  Alcamenes,  consist  of  a 
series  of  pictures,  probably  frescoes,  in  the  temple,  and 
probably  contemporary  with  it.  The  subjects  of  these 
were  the  return  of  Hephaestus  to  Olympus  by  the  help  of 
Dionysus,  the  punishment  of  Pentheus  and  Lycurgus 
for  their  violence  to  the  god,  and  Dionysus  approaching 


454  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

Ariadne  after  her  desertion  by  Theseus,  —  all  of  them 
favourite  subjects  on  vases  or  other  works  of  ancient  art. 
The  small  and  ancient  temple  still  continued  to  stand 
beside  the  later  one,  as  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  the 
corner  of  the  great  portico  behind  the  Theatre  is  cut 
away  to  fit  into  its  steps.  It  contained  the  early  wooden 
statue  of  Dionysus  Eleuthereus,  which  was  annually  car- 
ried in  solemn  procession  to  the  Academy. 


CHAPTER   XI 

THE  CER AMICUS » 

ri&kaaiv  ovv  e<?  to  Srjfiomnv  rnffxa,  o  iartv  irri  tov  KaWurrov  7rpoarrT€tov 
Tr)$  7rdAea»»,  Kal  ael  iv  avTio  OaivTOvcn  tous  €k  twv  woXe/xiDv,  irXrjv  ye  tous  ey 
M.apad(Lvi.      €K£tVu)v  8e  SiuTTptTrrj  ti/v   dperi/v   Kptvavrc;   avrov   kol   tov   T<i<pov 

€Troir)(rav. 

—  Thuc.  II.34.  3. 
O  Ktpu/XUKO'i  o£i;€Tai  vw. 
orjfAOcna  yap  lvjl  Tu(f>(i>p.cv, 
<prj(TOp.€V  7TOOS  TOl'S  <rTpaTr]yov<; 
p.U^Op.(.VM   TOtS   TTo\ep.LOL<JlV 

a7ro6avf.lv  iv   Opveuis. 

—  Ar.  Av.  395-399- 

The  Ceramicus  was  the  chief  though  not  the  only 
burial-place  of  ancient  Athens  ;  but  its  name  is  so  famil- 
iar to  us  in  this  connection,  both  from  ancient  literature 
and  from  modern  impressions  of  the  town,  that  it  may 
be  taken  as  typical  of  a  Greek  cemetery.  The  term 
"  Ceramicus  "  had  indeed  no  such  exclusive  application  in 
ancient  times.  It  was  the  old  potters'  field  that  pro- 
vided the  clay  for  the  unrivalled  Athenian  vases ;  and 
it  was  divided  into  the  inner  Ceramicus,  which  in  later 
times  came  to  be  synonymous  with  the  Agora,  and  the 
outer  Ceramicus,  the  most  beautiful  suburb  of  the  city, 
stretching  along  the  roads  to  the  Academy  and   Eleusis. 

1  For  a  fuller  treatment  of  the  whole  subject,  see  P.  Gardner.  Sculptured  Tombs  of 
Hellas,  and  Conze,  Die  attischen  Grabreliefs. 

455 


456  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

From  quite  early  times  it  was  used  for  burial,  as  is 
sufficiently  attested  by  the  fact  that  the  great  majority  of 
the  Dipylon  vases  come  from  its  tombs.  But  graves 
of  this  early  period,  as  well  as  of  that  which  succeeded, 
are  found  in  considerable  numbers  elsewhere  in  Attica; 
and  burial  even  within  the  city  itself  appears  not  to 
have  been  prohibited  until  the  time  of  Solon.  For  the 
most  part,  the  graves  that  are  scattered  over  the  surface 
of  Attica  appear  in  groups.  Often  they  are  in  low 
mounds  or  tumuli;  when  such  a  tumulus  is  investi- 
gated, it  sometimes  proves  to  cover  a  small  group  of 
tombs,  each  with  a  built  structure  originally  showing 
above  ground.  Then  the  principal  tomb  of  the  whole 
set  seems  to  have  been  made  beside  these,  and  the 
tumulus  heaped  up  over  it ;  and,  finally,  many  other 
graves,  of  various  later  periods,  were  made  in  the  tumu- 
lus. We  are,  however,  at  present  mainly  concerned 
with  the  tombs  immediately  around  Athens.  These,  as 
in  the  case  of  other  Greek  cities,  seem  to  have  been 
placed  chiefly  along  the  most  frequented  roads  leading 
out  of  the  town,  so  as  to  attract  the  attention  of  wayfar- 
ers;  they  naturally  were  thickest  just  outside  the  various 
gates,  though,  in  the  case  of  the  most  popular  road  of 
all,  the  Sacred  Way  to  Eleusis,  the  foundations  of  many 
tombs  may  still  be  seen  even  on  the  ascent  to  the  pass 
of  Daphne.  In  many  cases  the  tombs  of  families  were 
grouped  together;  thus  Miltiades,  Cimon,  and  Thucydi- 
des  were  all  buried  just  outside  the  Melitid  gates  — 
not,  probably,  where   the   rock-cut   tomb   is    now  shown 


THE   CERAMICUS  457 

near  the  church  of  St.  Demetrius  Lombardaris,  but 
farther  north  between  the  Pnyx  and  the  Observatory. 
Others  were  buried  in  appropriate  spots;  thus  Plato's 
tomb  was  near  the  Academy,  and  Themistocles'  grave 
was  at  the  entrance  of  the  Great  Harbour  of  the 
Piraeus,  of  which  he  had  been  the  first  to  develop  the 
opportunities.  "  Thy  tomb,"  as  Plato,  the  comic  poet, 
says  of  him,  "set  in  a  fitting  spot,  shall  be  spoken  by  all 
the  merchants  as  they  pass ;  it  shall  see  them  sailing  out 
and  in,  and  shall  be  a  spectator  whenever  there  is  a  ship- 
race."  On  the  road  from  the  Piraeus  to  Athens  were  the 
tombs,  among  others,  of  Socrates,  of  Euripides,  and  of 
Menander.  But,  as  was  to  be  expected,  it  was  above  all 
outside  the  Dipylon  Gate,  in  the  Ceramicus,  that  famous 
names  impressed  the  visitor  to  Athens  in  ancient  times. 
Here  were  the  tombs  of  all  those  who  had  fallen  in 
war,  and  had  received  a  public  funeral;  the  very  names 
of  the  campaigns  in  which  they  fell  was  a  record  of 
the  glory  of  Athens  or  of  its  vicissitudes  ;  only  Mara- 
thon retained  the  bones  of  its  heroes  in  its  sacred 
soil.  In  the  Ceramicus  were  the  tombs  of  Solon  and 
Clisthenes,  of  Pericles  and  Lycurgus,  of  Phormio  and 
Thrasybulus,  and  Conon,  and  Chabrias,  and  many 
others  who  had  guided  the  Athenian  state  in  prosperity 
or  saved  it  in  peril.  In  fact  the  mock-heroic  boast  of 
Peithetaerus,  in  the  battle  with  the  birds,  "the  Ceramicus 
shall  receive  us,"  is  evidently  the  Athenian  equivalent 
of  "  Victory  or  Westminster  Abbey."  Not  that  the 
Ceramicus  was  exclusively  reserved  for  those  who  had 


458  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

fallen  in  war  or  distinguished  themselves  in  peace. 
Though  it  has  yielded  the  great  majority  of  the  tomb- 
stones that  have  survived  to  our  times,  few  if  any  of  them 
can  be  identified  among  those  seen  by  Pausanias  or 
mentioned  by  other  writers;  an  example  that  might  be 
quoted  is  a  plain  slab,  surmounted  by  a  band  of  orna- 
ments, and  containing  the  names  of  the  knights  who  fell 
at  Corinth  in  394  B.C.,  among  them  the  young  Dexileos, 
whose  beautiful  private  monument  is  still  standing  above 
his  tomb.  But  the  monument  to  those  who  fell  at 
Corinth,  seen  by  Pausanias,  was  probably  to  the  larger 
number  of  infantry  who  fell  in  the  same  campaign.  The 
Ceramicus  was,  indeed,  crowded  with  graves  of  all  periods 
and  classes,  often  three  deep,  and  only  a  small  portion  of 
its  cemetery  has  been  excavated.  While  therefore  we 
cannot,  like  Pausanias,  gratify  our  sentiment  by  contem- 
plating the  actual  tombs  of  the  heroes  of  Athenian  his- 
tory, we  can,  on  the  other  hand,  observe  a  great  number 
of  monuments  that  record  the  feeling  or  beliefs  of  the 
ordinary  Athenian  in  the  presence  of  death  or  bereave- 
ment, and  the  manner  in  which  he  recalled  to  memory 
his  departed  relatives  or  friends. 

The  form  of  the  monuments  is  usually  very  simple. 
We  have  already  noticed  that  in  earlier  times  it  was 
often  a  mound,  perhaps  with  a  retaining  wall  around  it, 
and  sometimes  surmounted  by  a  funeral  vase.1  Down  to 
the  fifth  and  fourth  centuries  this  form  seem  to  have 
persisted;  but  the  stela,  vase,  or  other  monument,  instead 

1  Sec  p.  456. 


THE   CERAMICUS 


459 


of  being  placed  on  the  top  of  the  mound,  was  more  often 
set  on  a  base  immediately  in  front  of  it ;  and,  when  graves 
were  much  crowded  together,  the  mound  came  either  to 
be  greatly  curtailed  or  to  disappear  entirely.  The  monu- 
mental earthen  vases,  set  up  outside  the'  tomb  in  early 
times,  continued  in  occa- 
sional use  at  least  in  the 
fifth  century ;  but  now 
frequently  marble  substi- 
tutes were  provided, 
either  in  the  form  of  the 
great  two-handled  "lutro- 
phoros,"  with  its  symbol- 
ical reference  to  the  un- 
married,1 or  the  lecythus, 
which  properly  belonged 
to  the  inside  of  the  tomb, 
but  often  appeared  out- 
side it  also.  Both  lutro- 
phoros  and  lecythus 
often  have  sculptured 
upon  them,  in  low  relief, 
scenes  which  cannot  be 
distinguished  in  character  from  those  on  ordinary  stelae. 
The  usual  form  of  the  tombstone  in  Athens  in  the 
fifth  and  fourth  centuries  is  the  stela,  or  upright  slab  ;  in 
its  simplest  form  it  is  merely  a  flat  slab  of  marble,  rather 
narrower  at  the  top  than  at  the  bottom,  usually  crowned 

1  See  p.  173. 


Marble  Lutrophoros  and  Lecvthi  on 

Relief. 
Boy  with  hoop  and  departure  of  a  knight. 


460  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

with  a  palmette  or  acanthus  ornament.  Sometimes  it 
has  two  rosettes  carved  on  it  side  by  side,1  and  above  or 
below  them  is  incised  the  name  of  the  deceased,  usually 
in  beautifully  formed  and  regular  letters.  Below  the 
name  a  panel  of  ornamentation  comes  to  be  added, 
sometimes  in  painting,  sometimes  in  low  relief;  the  sub- 
jects fall  under  a  limited  number  of  types,  which  must 
be  described  later.  The  panel  in  relief  grows  until,  in 
the  best-known  form  of  Attic  tombstone,  it  becomes  the 
chief  part  of  the  monument.  To  the  usual  ornament 
at  the  top  there  is  added,  especially  when  high  relief  is 
used,  an  architectural  frame  at  the  sides  also,  and  this 
frame  sometimes  takes  the  form  of  pilasters  or  semi- 
columns;  thus  we  have  developed  the  type  of  a  shrine 
or  miniature  temple,  within  the  front  of  which  the 
figures  of  the  relief  seem  to  stand.  Though  this  is 
probably  the  actual  course  of  development,  it  is  not  to 
be  supposed  that  any  inferences  as  to  date  can  be  drawn 
from  the  various  forms.  The  simple  ones  persisted  side 
by  side  with  the  more  elaborate,  and  all  alike  were 
prevalent  throughout  the  period,  from  the  latter  part 
of  the  fifth  century  to  the  end  of  the  fourth,  to  which 
nearly  all  the  sepulchral  stelae  of  Athens  must  be 
ascribed. 

Attempts  were  frequently  made  in  Athens  to  restrict 
not  only  the   ostentation  of    mourning   at    funerals   but 

1  The  origin  of  these  is  doubtful.  Some  have  suggested  that  it  is  anthropomor- 
phic, and  that  they  represent  the  breasts  of  a  human  figure;  but  proof  of  this  is 
lacking,  and  it  does  nut  seem  very  probable. 


THE   CERAMICUS  461 

also  the  sumptuousness  of  funeral  monuments.  Deme- 
trius of  Phalerum,  who  controlled  the  affairs  of  Athens 
from  317  to  307  b.c.,1  took  a  special  interest  in  the 
matter  and  wrote  a  treatise  about  it,  which  is  quoted 
by  Cicero."  Solon,  he  says,  though  he  made  regula- 
tions to  restrain  mourning,  enacted  nothing  about  tombs, 
except  to  prohibit  their  violation  ;  but  soon  after  his 
time,  to  prevent  the  sumptuousness  of  tombs  such  as  may 
be  seen  in  the  Ceramicus,  it  was  enacted  that  "  no  tomb 
should  be  built  with  more  elaboration  than  could  be 
effected  by  ten  men  in  three  days."  At  the  same  time 
it  was  prohibited  for  tombs  to  be  ornamented  with  stucco 
or  for  portrait  busts  to  be  set  up  over  them  ;  and  these 
regulations,  so  far  as  we  can  judge,  were,  in  part  at 
least,  observed  throughout  the  finest  period,  though  the 
regulation  as  to  the  amount  of  labour  to  be  expended 
was  apparently  evaded  by  buying  the  stelae  or  other 
monuments  ready  made  in  a  sculptor's  shop.  Deme- 
trius himself  passed  much  more  stringent  rules;  he 
ordered  that  no  monument  should  be  set  up  except  a 
simple  mound  of  earth  with  a  column  not  more  than 
three  cubits  high,  or  a  flat  slab,  or  a  vessel  for  water. 
We  find,  accordingly,  that  from  his  time  to  the  Roman 
age  sepulchral  monuments  of  any  artistic  value  or  inter- 
est are  practically  unknown  at  Athens.  For  this  reason, 
too,,  the  sculptured  sarcophagi,  the  most  characteristic 
tomb  of  later  times,  are  not  found  at  Athens,  except 
in  a  few  exceptional  examples  of  the   Roman  age. 

1  See  p.  481.  2  De  legibus,  II.  26. 


462  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

The  great  majority  of  the  sculptured  tombs  that  have 
been  found  in  Athens  were  probably  bought  ready 
made.  Occasionally  a  well-known  sculptor  was  em- 
ployed, as  in  the  case  of  the  horses  and  riders  made 
by  Praxiteles  and  mentioned  by  Pausanias ;  but  these 
were  the  exception.  The  ordinary  Attic  tombstones, 
as  we  may  now  see  them  in  the  Ceramicus  or  in 
the  National  Museum  at  Athens,  were  a  commercial 
product,  made  by  men  who  had  no  claim  to  be  more 
than  artisans ;  and  we  must  remember  this  fact  in 
criticising  them.  Their  artistic  quality  of  workman- 
ship does  not  often  rise  beyond  a  certain  facility  and 
mediocrity,  and,  with  a  few  notable  exceptions,  we  may 
look  in  vain  to  them  for  any  high  quality  of  technique. 
For  this  reason  it  is  all  the  more  noteworthy  that  they 
seldom  fail  to  produce,  on  any  who  come  to  them  with 
an  unprejudiced  mind,  a  satisfying  impression.  They 
evidently  have  behind  them  an  artistic  tradition  and 
instinct  that  avoids  what  is  false  or  theatrical,  and 
chooses  what  is  fitting  for  sculptural  treatment.  But, 
above  all,  this  fact  attests  the  feeling  of  restraint  and 
moderation  that  characterised,  not  only  the  sculptors, 
but  also  the  Athenian  public  for  which  they  worked; 
for  we  have  here,  not  the  works  of  art  designed  to 
satisfy  the  criticism  of  a  Pericles  or  a  Phidias,  but  the 
product   demanded    by   the    ordinary   Athenian    citizen. 

The  identification  of  the  figures  of  a  group  is  not 
always  obvious,  and  sometimes  it  is  not  easy  to  say 
which   represents  the  deceased;    in   some  cases,   indeed, 


THE   CERAMICUS  463 

the  group  seems  to  serve  for  the  commemoration  of  a 
whole  family,  and  in  that  case  it  may  be  more  or  less 
of  an  accident  over  whom  it  was  first  set  up.  Portraits, 
as  such,  are  extremely  rare;  indeed,  the  prohibition  of 
portrait  busts  shows  probably  what  the  general  feeling 
was  about  the  matter.  The  figures  are  all  of  them  typi- 
cal, not  individual.  There  was  therefore  no  occasion  for 
the  custom,  sometimes  suggested,  of  leaving  the  heads  in 
the  rough,  to  be  finished  after  an  order  had  been  given. 
There  are  no  certain  examples  of  such  a  practice,  though 
some  unfinished  grave  reliefs  or  figures  have  been  found  ; 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  there  are  some  instances  in  which 
an  extra  figure  seems  to  have  been  cut  into  the  side  or 
background  of  a  relief  to  suit  the  requirements  of  a  cus- 
tomer. Such  examples  do  not,  however,  invalidate  the 
statement  that  the  sculptured  tombstones  were  as  a  rule 
made  to  meet  a  general  need,  rather  than  the  require- 
ments of  particular  cases.  We  need  not,  therefore,  be 
surprised  to  find  that  they  fall  into  a  few  clearly  marked 
classes,  according  to  the  subject  chosen  and  the  way  it  is 
treated. 

We  find,  in  the  first  place,  a  large  number  of  reliefs 
in  which  the  deceased  —  for  such  we  must  presume 
the  figure  to  be  —  is  employed  in  the  ordinary  pur- 
suits of  daily  life.  Thus  a  child  has  his  playthings 
and  pet  animals,  a  hoop  or  a  bird ;  a  young  man 
carries  his  oil  flask  and  strigil,  and  is  often  repre- 
sented in  the  performance  of  some  athletic  exercise, 
or   in   preparation   for   it ;   or  a  youth  and   even  a  man 


464 


ANCIENT  ATHENS 


of  mature  age  may  be  represented  with  his  favourite 
animals  —  dog  or  hare  or  bird.  A  lady  is  frequently 
represented  among  her  children  or  at  her  toilet,  or  play- 


MONUMENT  OF   IlF.GESO. 


ing  with  the  jewels  in  her  casket,  often  with  the  help 
of  a  slave  or  attendant.  In  all  these  cases  the  imme- 
diate  intention   of    the   artist   is   evidently   to   represent 


THE   CERAMICUS 


465 


the  deceased  just  as  he  was  in  life,  and  enjoying  those 
things  in  which,  when  alive,  he  had  delighted.  There  is 
no  need  to  look  for  any  subtle  allusion  to  a  continuation 
of  the  same  pursuits  beyond  the  tomb;  except,  indeed,  for 
the  suggestion  that  the  survivors  like  to  have  their  ab- 
sent friend  presented  to  their  imagination  still  the  same 
as  he  was  when  he  was  with  them.  It  is  but  a  slight 
extension  of  the  same 
notion  when  the  allusion 
is  not  to  the  general  tenor 
of  life,  but  to  some  con- 
spicuous moment  in  it  — 
it  may  be  to  the  crown- 
ing exploit  that  ended  in 
death.  Thus  it  is  not 
uncommon  for  one  who 
had  fallen  in  battle  to  be 
represented  in  full  ar- 
mour, whether  at  rest  or 
in   action ;    the   finest   ex-  ToMB  relief. 

l*,i  ,  Young;  man  with  boy  and  animals. 

ample    is    the    monument  fe 

of  Dexileos,  one  of  the  knights  whose  name  is  recorded 
on  the  stela  already  mentioned,  set  up  to  the  memory 
of  those  who  fell  at  Corinth  in  394  b.c.  His  own  monu- 
ment states  that  he  was  one  of  the  Five  Knights ;  he 
is  represented  on  horseback  transfixing  with  his  spear 
a  prostrate  foe.  This  relief  must  have  been  specially 
prepared  for  a  special  occasion  ;  but  there  is  no  reason 
to  suppose  that  it   represents  any  particular   exploit  of 


466 


.WCIENT   ATHENS 


Dexileos,  rather  than  a   type   of    chivalrous   and   victo- 
rious youth. 

In  all   this  class  of  monuments,  we   see   no   allusion, 
not   even   a   covert   one,  to   death ;   in  the  rest  there  is 


Mi  (NUMEN  r   OF    I  >  l.X  I II  <  >s. 

at  leasl  a  symbolical  and  sometimes  a  direct  reference 
to  it.  The  next  class  consists  of  groups,  sometimes 
of  only  two  figures,  sometimes  of  a  whole  family;  and 
the  central  motive  of  these  groups  is  usually  supplied 
by   two    figures    that   clasp   hands,   one    sealed    and    one 


THK   CERAMICUS 


467 


standing,  or  occasionally  both  standing.  The  clasping 
of  hands  was  a  more  serious  and  unusual  thing  with 
the  Greeks  than  it  is  with  us ;  it  was  used  in  the 
ratification  of  an  oath,  in  a  solemn  greeting,  but  above 
all  in  the  parting  before  a  long  absence.  Thus  Aga- 
memnon, before  the  sacrifice  of  his  daughter  Iphigenia, 
bidding  her  a  longer  and  sadder  farewell  than  she 
yet  suspects,  bids  her  part  from  him 

TTtKpov  (fyiXyj/xa  oovrra  oe^idv  t    ifioi, 
fieWovcra  Sapov  7rarpos  aTroLKrjcreLv  xpovov. 

This  must  be  the  meaning  of  the  clasping  of  hands 
upon  the  tombstones,  and  it  is  usually  accompanied  by 
a  certain  air  of  sadness, 
both  in  expression  and 
gesture,  that  fits  the 
occasion.  At  the  same 
time  there  is  no  hint  of 
anything  like  mourning, 
either  real  or  conven- 
tional, except,  perhaps,  in 
the  resting  the  head  on 
the  hand  in  a  common 
attitude  of  sorrow.  The 
gentle  and  restrained 
pathos  of  the  scene  is 
suited  rather  to  the  ficti- 
tious parting  on  the  re- 
lief than  to  what  it  signifies.  When  we  remember 
that  the  Greeks,  and  especially  the  women,  were  by  no 


Tomb  Relief. 

Family  group  —  parting  scene. 


468 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


means  naturally  given  to  such  restraint  over  the  expres- 
sion of  their  grief,  and  that  legislation  was  frequently 
necessary  to  keep  it  within  bounds,  we  must  recognise 
either  that  the  art  of  sculpture  imposed  even  on  the 
common   people   a    respect    for    its    conditions,    or   that 

there  was  a  strong  feel- 
ing, possibly  supported 
by  legislation,  against 
any  unseemly  represen- 
tation on  tomb  reliefs.1 
However  this  may  be, 
the  sculptors  have  cer- 
tainly observed  the  spirit 
as  well  as  the  letter  of 
the  restriction.  A  slight 
modification  in  the  sym- 
bolism, though  little 
change  in  the  grouping 
or  artistic  effect,  is  intro- 
duced when  the  scene 
of  parting  is  more  distinctly  characterised  by  the  addi- 
tion of  indications  that  one  of  the  party  is  about  to 
start  on  a  journey.  Thus,  in  one  relief,  a  slave  is 
putting  on  the  sandals  of  a  lady  who  is  evidently  on 
the  point  of  departure ;  in  another,  a  youth,  who  is 
bidding    farewell    to    an    older   man,   stands   beside   his 


Jm                                              ^H^_ 

fl 

III 

MM 

Tomb  Relief. 
Old  man,  young  athlete,  and  slave  boy. 


1  An  almost  Military  exception  is  offered  by  a  relief  which  represents  a  lady  as 
falling  back  in  death  on  a  couch,  surrounded  by  mourning  relatives.  (P.Gardner, 
«/>.  <  //.  Fig.  66.)     It  is  noteworthy  that  the  family  is  of  Platsea,  not  of  Athens. 


THE   CERAMICUS 


469 


horse,  ready  to  mount  him  and  ride  away.  This  mean- 
ing is  evidently  present  to  the  mind  of  the  artist,  even 
if,  as  we  shall  see  later,  the  horse  is  present  for  another 
reason  also. 

Mourning  figures,  as  distinct  from  such  as  have  merely 
some  vague  expression  of  grief,  are,  as  we  have  noticed, 
usually  absent  from  these  groups.  There  are,  however, 
a  few  exceptions,  especially  in  subordinate  figures:  the 
little  slave  boy,  for  example,  who  sits  huddled  up  at  his 
master's  feet,  upon  a  stela  that  has  some  other  peculi- 
arities. The  principal  figure,  an  athlete  of  splendid 
proportions,  leans 
against  a  tomb- 
stone, and  both  he 
and  the  older  man 
who  stands  oppo- 
site him  have  an 
intense  expression 
of  sadness  that 
shows  the  scene 
is  one  of  parting, 
though  the  char- 
acteristic gesture 
of  the  clasping  of 
hands  is  absent.  The  sculptor  of  this  group  has  evi- 
dently fallen  under  the  influence  of  Scopas,  the  great 
master  of  the  expression  of  emotion,  though  his  execution 
in  detail  is  hardly  on  a  level  with  his  artistic  aspira- 
tions.     Such   representations   of  the  tomb   on  a  tomb- 


Tomb  Relief. 
Young  warrior  seated  on  prow  of  ship. 


47o  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

stone  are  not  common  ;  they  occur  much  more  frequently 
on  the  funeral  lecythi,  which  have  a  similar  range  of 
subjects.  Another  example  of  a  figure  in  an  attitude 
of  dejection  clearly  represents  the  deceased  himself.  It 
is  a  curiously  simple  piece  of  low  relief  in  two  planes : 
we  see  the  dead  youth  seated  on  the  prow  of  a  ship, 
which  shows  clearly  enough  that  he  was  lost  at  sea; 
beside  him  his  shield  and  helmet  show  that  he  was  not 
probably  a  sailor,  but  on  military  service,  whether  as 
ini/Sdrr)?  or  passenger.  Mourning  figures,  usually  female, 
are  commoner  as  free  statues  set  up  over  the  tomb ; 
they  are  usually  represented  as  seated  on  a  rock  or  on 
the  ground,  often  with  the  head  resting  on  the  hand. 
Similar  figures  occur  also  in  the  gable-shaped  ends  of 
the  famous  sarcophagus  of  the  mourners  from  Sidon,1 
which  derives  its  subjects  from  the  Attic  sculptured 
tombs.  A  similar  relief  has  also  been  found  in  Athens 
itself,  from  the  metope  of  a  more  elaborate  sculptured 
monument.2 

So  far  the  representations  we  have  noticed,  whether 
they  allude  to  the  departure  of  the  deceased,  or  only  to 
the  events  or  habits  of  his  life,  contain  no  clear  reference 
to  any  belief  as  to  a  life  beyond  the  grave,  or  as  to  any 
customs  connected  with  that  belief.  This  is  the  case 
with  the  great  majority  of  Attic  tombstones  of  the  best 
period.  There  is,  however,  another  class  of  monuments, 
common  outside  Athens,  and  occasionally  found  in 
Athens  too,  especially  in  later  times,  which  clearly  reprc- 

1  P.  Gardner,  Sculptured  Tombs,  Fig.  82.  -  Wolters,  Mitth.  Ath.  XVIII.  PI.  I. 


THE   CERAMICUS 


471 


Tomb  Relief. 

Deceased  as  hero  at  a  banquet ;    his  wife  seated  beside  couch,  attendant  and  worshipper 

or  descendant.     Below  table,  dog. 

sent  the  deceased  as  a  hero  in  the  technical  sense  —  that 
is  to  say,  as  continuing  to  exist  with  superhuman  power, 
and  requiring  or  demanding  gifts  and  offerings  from  his 
descendants.  We  find  a  reflection  of  this  belief  in  the 
figures  with  offerings  which  frequently  appear  on  the 
lecythi ;  representations  of  the  deceased  in  heroised  form, 
seated  on  a  throne  and  approached  by  worshippers,  are 
practically  unknown  at  Athens,  though  sometimes,  on 
tombstones  of  Roman  date,  we  see  him  standing,  usually 
beside  a  horse,  and  receiving  a  drink-offering.  The  only 
representation  of  the  type  which  we  find  on  Athenian 
reliefs  in  good  period  is  that  known  as  the  funeral  ban- 


472  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

quet  or  banquet  of  a  hero.  In  this  the  deceased  is  seen 
reclining  on  a  couch,  his  wife  often  seated  at  his  feet, 
while  attendants  bring  him  food  and  drink.  At  first 
sight  one  might  be  inclined  to  suggest  that  here  we  have 
again  only  a  scene  from  ordinary  life,  representing  the 
social  pleasures  of  the  table,  just  as  others  represented  the 
employments  of  the  gymnasium,  of  the  toilet,  or  of  family 
life.  But  a  comparison  with  similar  reliefs  dedicated  to 
Asclepius,  himself  a  hero  rather  than  a  god,  and  the  pres- 
ence in  those  reliefs  of  attendants  who  are  clearly  wor- 
shippers bringing  offerings,  not  merely  servants  waiting 
at  their  master's  table,  shows  that  the  type  is  a  religious 
one.  Like  the  enthroned  figures  of  Sparta  and  elsewhere, 
it  must  represent  the  deceased  as  in  enjoyment  of  the 
offerings,  often  in  kind,  which  his  descendants  bring 
to  his  tomb ;  it  probably  serves  both  as  a  monumental 
record  of  such  offerings,  and  as  a  symbolical  substitute 
for  them. 

It  is  unusual  to  find  on  the  sculptured  tombs  any 
more  definite  or  direct  allusion  than  this  to  the  life  after 
death.  The  customary  beliefs  as  to  Charon  and  the 
voyage  to  the  land  of  Hades  have  left  little  trace.  Only 
in  one  tomb,  of  late  date,  we  see  a  boatman,  who  may 
be  Charon,  approaching  a  group  of  figures  arranged 
at  a  funeral  banquet.  The  confusion  of  thought  here 
implied  is  no  greater  than  we  constantly  find  on  the 
lecythi ;  but  the  subject  is  so  unusual  that  the  interpre- 
tation has  sometimes  been  doubted  and  another  mean- 
ing sought  for  the  boat  in   this  scene. 


THE   CERAMICUS  473 

Some  special  symbols  arc  of  common  occurrence,  and 
have  given  rise  to  much  discussion.  The  snake  is 
familiar  enough  in  connection  with  tombs,  but  only 
occurs  exceptionally  in  Athenian  tomb  reliefs.  Figures 
that  were  often  set  up  over  tombs  were  sphinxes  and 
sirens,  both  of  them  probably  recognised  as  symbols  of 
the  mysterious  Genius  of  death,  terrible  as  the  riddles 
of  the  one  and  the  songs  of  the  other.  It  is  not  so 
easy  to  explain  the  custom  of  setting  up  images  of 
animals  on  tombs;  a  bull  and  a  hound  are  among  the 
most  conspicuous  objects  in  the  Ceramicus  at  the 
present  day,  and  they  were  not  isolated  of  their  kind. 
Animals  were  sometimes  used  as  a  sort  of  punning  or 
"chanting"  device  on  a  monument  —  for  example,  the 
lion  in  relief  on  the  tombstone  of  Leon,1  or  the  tongue- 
less  lioness  on  the  Acropolis,  said  to  have  been  set  up 
to  commemorate  the  heroism  of  Leaena,  the  associate 
of  Harmodius  and  Aristogiton,  who  refused,  under  tor- 
ture, to  betray  her  friends.  The  bull  may  have  had 
some  similar  meaning ;  the  dog  may  probably  be  inter- 
preted as  a  watchful  guardian  of  the  tomb,  as  well  as 
his  master's  favourite,  though  it  is  possible  he  may  have 
had  some  symbolical  meaning,  since  he  appears  on  the 
hero  reliefs,  and  is  associated  with  the  snake  in  the 
worship  of  Asclepius.  Many  theories  have  been  held 
about  the  horse  upon  tombstones.  He  not  only  appears 
as  part  of  the  subject,  but  sometimes  a  horse's  head  in 
a  square  frame  is  inserted  in  a  corner  of  a  relief  in  such 

1  P.  Gardner,  op.  cit.     Fig.  50. 


474 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


a  manner  as  to  suggest  that  it  has  some  recognised 
and  symbolical  significance.  It  has  been  suggested, 
for  example,  that  the  horse  is  introduced  as  the  symbol 
of  a  journey  or  expedition,  and  this  may  be  the  case 
where  his  rider  stands  ready  to  mount  him.  But  Dexi- 
leos,  for  example,  evidently  appears  with  a  horse  because 
he  fought  on  horseback  as  a  knight ; 
and  the  most  generally  accepted  opin- 
ion now  seems  to  be  that  the  horse 
usually  appears  on  tombstones  as  a 
symbol  of  the  rank  of  the  deceased,  as 
in  the  example  quoted  by  Aristotle '  of 
a  man  who  rose  to  the  rank  of  knight- 
hood and  set  up  an  image  of  a  horse  to 
commemorate  the  fact. 

The  marble  vases,  whether  lecythi 
or  lutrophori,  that  stood  over  tombs, 
often  have  reliefs  sculptured  upon  them 
that  are  similar  in  character  to  those 
on  the  stelae,  and  belong  to  almost  all 
the  classes  that  have  been  enumerated ; 
but  the  earthen  lecythi,  the  vases  that 
were  painted  for  the  dead,  and  either 
buried  in  the  grave  or  placed  on  the  monument,  often 
fixed  into  sockets  made  to  receive  them,  have  a  some- 
what different  range  of  subjects,  mostly  also  of  funereal 
significance.  It  is  instructive  to  notice  both  how  far 
these  correspond  with  the  subjects  on  the  sculptured 
1  Constitution  of .  likens,  cap.  7. 


M  \Kisr.E 
LUTROPHORUS 

wiiii  Relief. 

Parting  scene. 


THE   CERAMICUS  475 

tombs,  and  how  far  they  differ  from  them  in  treatment 
as  well  as  subject.  These  lecythi,  with  outline  or  poly- 
chrome designs  on  a  white  ground,  form  a  class  by 
themselves,  and  appear  to  have  been  exclusively  in- 
tended for  funereal  purposes.  Some  short  account  of 
them  is  desirable  here,  not  only  because  they  explain 
and  supplement  the  tombstones,  but  also  because  they 
are  a  most  characteristic  product  of  Attic  art,  and  one 
that  can  best  be  studied  in  Athens.  For  the  immense 
number  that  has  been  found  both  in  Athens  itself  and 
at  Eretria,  which  seems  for  some  reason  to  have  been 
a  fashionable  burying-place,  has  filled  the  Athenian 
National  Museum  with  an  unrivalled  collection  of  these 
beautiful  vases. 

We  find,  in  the  first  place,  a  frequent  occurrence  of 
scenes  from  ordinary  life ;  the  subjects,  indeed,  are  often 
not  to  be  distinguished  from  those  on  other  vases,  and 
may  sometimes  have  no  special  significance.  But  we 
have  already  seen  on  the  stelae  how  common  is  the  repre- 
sentation of  the  athlete  or  the  hunter  at  his  favourite 
employment,  or  of  ladies  at  their  toilet  or  occupied  with 
their  jewels ;  and  it  is  natural  enough  to  give  the  same 
interpretation  on  the  lecythus,  and  to  recognise  in  these 
pictures  typical  representations  of  the  life  of  the  deceased. 
The  other  classes  of  subjects  that  are  common  in  sculp- 
tured reliefs  are  seldom,  if  ever,  found  on  the  lecythi, 
which  have,  on  the  other  hand,  a  different  repertoire  of 
their  own  in  their  allusions  to  death,  and  this  includes 
subjects  of  three  different  kinds  —  actual  or  ideal  repre- 


476  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

sentations  of  the  funeral,  of  subsequent  visits  to  the  tomb, 
and  of  the  journey  to  Hades.  From  the  funeral  two 
scenes  are  commonly  selected :  the  lying  in  state  of  the 
deceased  on  a  bed  or  bier,  among  mourning  relatives, 
who  do  not  always  show  in  their  grief  the  restraint 
which  we  see  on  the  reliefs ;  and  the  deposition  in  the 
grave,  —  sometimes  represented  as  it  actually  happened, 
but  more  often  in  an  ideal  scene,  where  two  winged  genii, 
Sleep  and  Death,  lay  in  the  grave  a  figure  of  the  de- 
ceased with  none  of  the  stiffness  of  death,  but  seated  or 
recumbent  as  if  asleep.  The  tomb  itself  often  appears  in 
the  background.  The  representation  of  the  visit  to  the 
tomb  is  again,  in  some  respects,  like  what  actually  hap- 
pened: the  relatives  of  the  deceased,  especially  women, 
bring  sashes  and  wreaths  and  other  offerings  in  broad, 
flat  baskets  to  decorate  the  tomb;  but  often  the  deceased 
himself  appears,  a  figure  quite  like  the  rest,  seated  or 
standing  on  the  steps  of  the  tomb  to  receive  what  is 
brought,  or  to  welcome  the  visit  of  his  friends.  In  this 
case  we  may  perhaps  recognise  an  allusion  to  the  repre- 
sentation of  the  deceased  that  existed  upon  his  stela; 
but  the  vase  painter,  rather  than  copy  another  work  of 
art,  prefers  to  give  his  own  direct  version  of  the  presence 
of  the  deceased.  Sometimes,  however,  the  deceased  is 
represented  as  actually  painted  or  sculptured  upon  the 
tomb.  Yet  another  form  in  which  he  may  appear  in 
these  scenes  on  the  vases  is  that  of  an  etScoXop,  a  little 
butterfly-like  figure  of  human  form  with  wings.  In  the 
journey  to  Hades,  Charon  and  his  boat  are  constant  fea- 


THE   CERAMICUS  477 

tures,  and  he  is  evidently  a  realistic  study  in  many  cases 
from  a  rustic  ferryman;  sometimes  the  marshy  bank  of 
the  Styx  is  represented  by  a  group  of  rushes ;  and  often 
Hermes  appears  as  the  guide  and  herald  of  the  dead. 
The  deceased  often  carries  with  him  some  of  his  funeral 
gifts  to  the  ferry-boat;  and  sometimes,  by  a  curious  con- 
fusion of  place,  Charon  and  his  skiff  actually  approach 
the  tomb  itself  to  fetch  its  occupant. 

From  the  lecythi  and  the  sculptured  tombs  together, 
we  may  gather  some  notion  of  how  the  Greeks  thought 
of  death  and  of  the  life  beyond  it.  It  is  evident  that 
there  was  some  confusion,  both  in  belief  and  in  ritual, 
between  various  inconsistent  views.  The  most  preva- 
lent notion  seems  to  be  of  the  continued  existence  of  the 
dead  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  place  where  his  body 
lies,  of  his  presence  to  receive  the  visits  of  his  relatives 
and  their  offerings,  of  his  appearing  to  them  as  he  had 
been  in  life,  or  sometimes  hovering  as  a  diminutive 
ghost  about  them  and  their  gifts.  It  is  impossible  not 
to  recall  in  this  connection  the  description  of  Plato  in 
the  P/ia-do,  how  those  souls  that  had  allowed  them- 
selves to  be  too  much  mixed  up  and  contaminated  with 
the  body  in  their  earthly  life,  found  it  impossible  to  free 
themselves  from  it  entirely  at  death,  but  still  hovered 
about  the  cemeteries.  Side  by  side  with  this  conception 
of  the  actual  presence  of  the  deceased  at  his  tomb,  and 
sometimes  inextricably  confused  with  it,  we  find  some 
allusions  to  the  myth  of  Charon,  but  not  to  any  other 
incidents  of  the  life  beyond  the  grave.     The  myths  of 


478  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

Hades,  of  judgment  and  punishment  or  reward,  that  we 
read  of  in  poets  and  philosophers,  find  no  reflection  in  the 
popular  feeling,  so  far  as  it  is  recorded  for  us  by  these 
monuments.  In  fact,  it  is  not  only  for  the  beliefs  of  the 
people  about  death,  but  also  for  the  representation  of  their 
life,  that  the  sculptured  tombs  of  the  Athenians  are  valu- 
able to  us ;  for  they  supplement  and  correct  in  a  remark- 
able way  the  impressions  given  by  literature.  Especially 
notable  are  the  prominence  of  women  on  the  tombs 
and  the  constant  representations  of  husband  and  wife,  of 
parents  and  children,  in  the  intimacy  of  family  life. 
This  is  a  side  of  the  Greeks  that  we  might  well  overlook 
but  for  these  monuments ;  yet  we  can  hardly  believe  that 
what  they  turned  to  in  moments  of  sorrow  and  there- 
fore of  the  deepest  feeling  had  not  also,  though  not  super- 
ficially conspicuous,  a  real  influence  on  their  life  and 
character. 


CHAPTER    XII 

ATHENS  IN  HELLENISTIC  AND  ROMAN  TIMES 

The  Athenian  buildings  with  which  we  have  hitherto 
been  concerned  were  all  of  them  the  work  of  the  Athe- 
nian people,  the  spontaneous  product  of  their  needs  or 
aspirations ;  and  even  if  some  of  them,  especially  those 
of  the  Periclean  age,  owed  their  origin  to  a  single  man, 
that  man  was  himself  the  most  representative  of  Athe- 
nians, and  was  only  directing  the  tendency  toward 
artistic  expression  that  already  existed  among  his  fellow- 
citizens.  In  the  Hellenistic  age  it  is  otherwise ;  the 
names  alone  of  many  of  the  chief  buildings  suffice  to 
record  that  they  were  due  to  foreign  munificence,  not  to 
the  prosperity-  of  the  city  or  the  public  spirit  of  its  in- 
habitants. The  place  that  had  been  won  for  Athens  in 
the  estimation  of  the  world  by  her  poets,  her  philoso- 
phers, and  her  artists  sufficed  to  secure,  in  most  cases, 
the  preservation  of  her  monuments ;  but  she  had  already 
begun  to  live  on  the  reputation  of  her  past  rather  than 
on  her  actual  power  and  resources.  The  virtue  had 
gone  out  of  Greece  to  follow  the  conquests  of  Alexander 
to  the  East,  and  the  centre  of  living  art  and  literature 
was  shifted  to  Alexandria,  to  Antioch,  or  to  Pergamum. 

479 


48o  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

Athens,  however,  had  conferred  such  inestimable  boons 
on  the  intellectual  and  artistic  world  that  she  was  still 
recognised  as  consecrated  by  tradition  to  be  the  metro- 
polis of  Hellenism ;  and  princes  to  whom  Hellenism  and 
civilisation  were  synonymous  vied  with  one  another  in 
decorating  the  city  with  costly  and  magnificent  edifices. 
In  such  buildings  we  cannot  expect  to  find  either  the  ar- 
tistic perfection  or  the  associations  that  belong  to  the 
products  of  an  earlier  age ;  but  they  are,  some  of  them, 
so  conspicuous  even  to  the  present  day  that  no  account 
of  ancient  Athens  can  ignore  them. 

In  the  earlier  part  of  the  Hellenistic  age  the  prestige 
of  Athens  availed  her  to  prevent  destruction,  as  well  as 
to  cause  her  enrichment  by  new  gifts.  Alexander,  in 
spite  of  her  opposition  to  him,  always  treated  her  with 
respect ;  he  is  said  to  have  sent  back  to  Athens  the 
statues  of  the  Tyrannicides  which  Xerxes  had  taken 
away  to  Persia,  and  he  dedicated  on  the  Acropolis  vari- 
ous spoils  from  the  enemy  who,  a  century  and  a  half 
before  his  time,  had  destroyed  its  temples.  Alexander 
posed  as  the  champion  of  Greece  and  Europe  in  the 
hereditary  feud  with  barbarism  and  with  Asia,  a  feud 
that  was  traced  back  to  the  Trojan  War  or  even  earlier; 
and  it  is  interesting  to  notice  that  by  his  time,  and  no 
doubt  partly  owing  to  his  influence  and  that  of  his 
teacher  Aristotle,  Athens  had  acquired  beyond  dispute 
that  preeminence  among  I  [ellenic  cities  which  she  had 
in  vain  striven  to  win  for  herself  by  diplomatic  skill  or 
l>v    naval    and   military   prowess.     The   example   set   by 


ATHENS   IN    HELLENISTIC   AND   ROMAN   TIMES     481 

Alexander  was  followed  by  his  successors ;  and  conse- 
quently, though  Athens  played  no  very  glorious  part  in 
the  years  of  strife  and  intrigue  that  followed  his  death, 
her  buildings  and  monuments  do  not  seem  to  have  suf- 
fered very  seriously  from  her  vicissitudes. 

A  monument  that  was  perhaps  the  last  spontaneous 
product  of  democratic  Athens,  is  also,  curiously  enough, 
the  first  recorded  example  of  a  form  of  architecture 
especially  associated  with  imperial  pride ;  this  is  a  tri- 
umphal arch  set  up  in  the  Agora  after  a  small  victory 
over  the  forces  of  Cassander  in  318  b.c.  It  is  to  his 
credit  that  he  left  it  standing  when  Athens  was  soon 
after  at  his  mercy ;  and  it  was  still  to  be  seen  in  the  time 
of  Pausanias.  We  have  already  noticed  that  Demetrius 
of  Phalerum,  the  philosopher  and  orator  who  adminis- 
tered the  affairs  of  Athens,  under  the  protection  of 
Cassander,  from  317  to  307  B.C.,  checked  the  sumptuous 
decoration  of  tombs.  His  great  architectural  work  was 
the  addition  of  a  colossal  portico  to  the  great  Hall  of  the 
Mysteries  at  Eleusis ;  this  portico  was  designed  by 
the  architect  Philo,  who  had  also  been  employed  by 
Lycurgus.  In  Athens,  however,  Demetrius  of  Phalerum 
does  not  seem  to  have  left  much  trace  of  his  activity, 
except  in  an  incredible  number  of  honorary  statues  of 
himself,  three  hundred  and  sixty  set  up  in  three  hundred 
days;  but  this  mushroom  growth  was  destroyed  even 
more  quickly  than  it  arose ;  only  one  is  said  to  have 
been  left  on  the  Acropolis  after  his  fall.  About  this 
time  the  most  precious  monuments  of  Athens  seem  to 
21 


482  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

have  run  the  most  serious  danger  of  destruction ;  for  the 
tyrant  Lachares  is  said  to  have  actually  stripped  the  gold 
from  the  statue  of  Athena  Parthenos.  Either  his  depre- 
dations have  been  exaggerated,  or  he  was  made  to  give  up 
his  spoils  before  he  had  destroyed  them ;  for  the  statue 
still  continued,  centuries  after,  to  be  one  of  the  chief 
sights  of  Athens.  The  so-called  restoration  of  freedom 
to  Athens  by  Demetrius  Poliorcetes  might  have  been 
accompanied  by  still  worse  results.  But  although  the 
Athenians  consented  to  the  grossest  sacrilege  when  they 
lodged  their  liberator  in  the  opisthodomus  of  the  Parthe- 
non, it  is  not  recorded  that  this  led  to  any  damage  to  the 
building  or  its  contents.  This  period  is  interesting  for 
the  associations  which  were  confirming  still  more  the 
position  of  Athens  in  the  ancient  world,  as  Zeno  taught 
in  the  Painted  Stoa  that  gave  its  name  to  his  school, 
and  Epicurus  in  his  garden  in  Melite  —  not,  as  Plato 
and  Aristotle,  in  suburban  pleasances.  At  this  time,  too, 
we  have  the  first  direct  record  of  the  population  of  the 
city;  Demetrius  of  Phalerum  took  a  census,  and  found 
that  Athens  contained  21,000  citizens,  10,000  metics  or 
aliens,  and  400,000  slaves.  These  figures  seem  to  imply 
a  free  population  of  100,000  or  more;  but  the  number  of 
the  slaves,  which  was  probably  far  more  difficult  to  ascer- 
tain, is  thought  by  cautious  investigators  to  be  greatly 
exaggerated. 

The  first  foreign  prince  to  contribute  in  a  direct 
way  to  the  decoration  of  the  town  of  Athens  was 
Ptolemy,   probably  Philadelphia,  who  reigned  from  285 


ATHENS   IN    HELLENISTIC    AND    ROMAN    TIMES     483 

to  247  B.C.  He  built  a  great  gymnasium  near  the  Agora, 
which  must  have  been  situated  somewhere  in  the  region 
behind  the  stoa  of  Attalus ;  this  gymnasium  was  not 
only  in  all  probability  the  most  extensive  and  sump- 
tuous building  of  its  kind  in  the  town,  but  it  also 
contained  a  library.  In  both  respects  Ptolemy  was 
conferring  on  Athens  the  same  advantages  of  luxury 
and  of  culture  that  he  had  given  to  his  own  capital, 
Alexandria.  Another  gymnasium,  founded  about  the 
same  time  in  connection  with  a  heroum  dedicated  to 
the  Macedonian  general  Diogenes,  and  therefore  called 
the  Diogeneion,  came  to  be  used  as  the  centre  of  the 
ephebic  system  in  Athens,  and  so  has  left  many  in- 
scriptions, though  there  are  but  scanty  traces  of  its 
plan.  It  may  almost  claim,  in  a  sense,  to  have  been  for 
a  time  the  university  of  Athens,  since  it  was  there  that 
the  ephebi,  the  body  of  the  Athenian  youths  under 
military  and  intellectual  training,  received  their  lectures 
on  literature  and  geometry  and  rhetoric  and  music ; 
and  it  was  there  that  they  set  up  the  numerous  hono- 
rary portraits  of  their  successive  koo-^toI  or  censors, 
which  we  may  still  see   in   the    Athenian    Museum. 

Another  great  dynasty  of  princes  who  allowed  Athens, 
as  the  metropolis  of  Hellenic  culture,  to  share  the  mag- 
nificence which  they  lavished  on  their  own  capital,  was 
that  of  the  kings  of  Pergamum.  Attalus  I.  visited 
Athens  in  201  B.C.,  and  it  may  well  have  been  on  this 
occasion  that  he  dedicated  on  the  Acropolis  a  series 
of    statues    to    commemorate    his    victories    over    the 


484  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

Gauls  in  Asia  Minor.  These  were  set  up  on  the 
wall  of  the  Acropolis  just  above  the  Theatre  of  Dio- 
nysus, and  consisted  of  a  number  of  bronze  figures, 
about  half  life-size.  Marble  copies  of  them  have  been 
found  scattered  through  the  museums  of  Europe;  and 
we  can  identify  in  them  examples  of  all  the  four  subjects 
mentioned  by  Pausanias  —  the  battles  of  the  Gods  and 
Giants,  of  the  Athenians  and  Amazons,  of  the  Athenians 
and  the  Persians  at  Marathon,  and  of  Attains  and  his 
people  against  the  Gauls  in  Mysia.  If,  on  the  one  hand, 
Attains  compared  his  own  exploits  with  the  prowess 
of  the  Athenians  at  Marathon,  and  with  the  mythical 
contests  in  which  they  were  fond  of  finding  an  antitype 
for  the  Persian  Wars,  on  the  other  hand  he  flattered 
their  vanity  by  an  indirect  reference  to  their  holding 
Thermopylae  in  278  B.C.,  against  the  same  terrible 
enemies  whom  he  defeated  in  Asia.  His  son,  Eumenes, 
who  continued  his  father's  work  both  in  the  subjugation 
of  the  Gauls  and  the  increase  of  the  magnificence  of 
Pergamum,  surpassed  him  also  in  benefactions  to  the 
Athenians;  for  he  built  the  great  portico  that  is  known 
by  his  name,  and  that  stretches  from  the  Theatre  of 
Dionysus  to  the  Odeum  of  Herodes.  This  portico  was 
especially  designed  to  shelter  the  spectators  in  the  Theatre 
in  case  of  a  sudden  shower;  but  it  also  gave  a  splendid 
finish  to  the  south  side  of  the  Acropolis.  The  most 
conspicuous  part  of  it  now,  the  row  of  arches  that  sup- 
ported the  terrace  behind,  was  invisible  when  the  building 
was   complete;    it   was    faced    with   a    wall    of   squared 


ATHENS   IN    HELLENISTIC   AND    ROMAN    TIMES     485 

masonry,  which  still  exists  in  places;  this  wall  was  of 
Piraic  limestone  in  its  upper  portion,  but  had  on  its 
lower  part  a  dado  of  Hymettian  marble.  In  front  of  it 
was  a  double  portico  of  splendid  proportions;  only  its 
foundation  and  a  few  fragments  of  its  columns,  which 
have    recently  been  recovered,  remain  to  testify  to  its 


'  -;lJ 
■  \ 


jA^trT^  ^ 


1  i 


Stoa  of  Attalus. 


original  character;  at  the  west  end  it  has  been  to  some 
extent  modified  when  the  adjoining  Odeum  was  built. 

Attalus  II.,  the  successor  of  Eumenes,  also  presented 
to  the  Athenians  a  magnificent  stoa,  of  which  the  remains 
may  still  be  seen ;  it  is  standing  to  a  considerable  height 
at  the  two  ends,  and  owes  its  preservation  to  having  been 
partly  built  into  one  of  the  late  walls  of  Athens.     This 


486  ANCIENT  ATHENS 

stoa  was  close  to  the  Agora,  and  enclosed  on  one  side 
either  the  original  open  space  or  a  later  extension  of  it. 
The  ground  plan  of  the  building  may  be  made  out  to 
some  extent  from  the  view  of  it  that  is  here  given.  It 
consisted  of  a  great  portico  of  two  stories,  open  toward 
the  Agora,  and  supported  by  double  rows  of  columns ; 
at  either  end  was  an  exedra  or  recess,  with  marble  seats, 
and  at  the  back  was  a  row  of  small  square  chambers, 
which  must  have  served  as  shops  or  offices.  The  whole 
was  probably,  from  the  point  of  view  of  luxury  and 
convenience,  a  great  advance  on  anything  that  had 
existed  in  Athens  before.  An  inscription  in  large  letters 
on  the  architrave,  still  partially  preserved  on  the  spot, 
records  its  dedication  by  Attalus. 

Another  Asiatic  monarch,  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  of 
Syria,  conceived  an  even  more  ambitious  project  for  the 
decoration  of  Athens.  This  was  the  completion  of  the 
colossal  temple  of  the  Olympian  Zeus,  which  had 
remained  unfinished  since  the  time  of  Pisistratus,  all 
through  the  most  glorious  days  of  Athens.  It  was  to 
the  project  of  Antiochus,  which  was  interrupted  by  his 
death  in  164  B.C.,  that  Livy  applies  the  distinguished 
praise,  "  unum  in  terris  inchoatum  pro  magnitudine  dei." 
Although  the  foundations  partly  belong  to  the  time  of 
Pisistratus,  and  the  completion  of  the  building,  including 
possibly  some  of  what  we  now  see,  dates  from  the  time 
of  Hadrian,  it  is  to  Antiochus  that  we  must  give  credit 
for  the  design  of  this  colossal  temple,  which,  was  one  of 
the  most  famous  in  the  ancient  world.    Curiously  enough, 


«  I        * 


- 


S    < 


ATHENS   IN    HELLENISTIC   AND    ROMAN   TIMES     487 

the  architect  employed  by  this  Oriental  king  for  a  temple 
in  Athens  was  a  Roman  citizen,  Cossutius,  who,  to  judge 
from  the  way  in  which  his  nationality  is  dwelt  on  by  ' 
Vitruvius,  was  probably  not,  like  most  artists  with  Roman 
names,  of  Greek  origin.  Vitruvius'  description  of  the 
proportions  and  architectural  character  of  the  temple 
seems  to  imply  that  it  had  at  least  advanced  so  far  toward 
completion  that  it  was  possible,  not  only  for  an  architect, 
but  for  the  public  gener- 
ally to  appreciate  it.  The 
first  part  of  a  temple 
to  be  erected  was  the 
columns ;  and  it  seems 
probable  that  a  consider- 
able part  of  the  great 
double  colonnade  of  Co- 
rinthian columns  that 
surrounded  the  temple 
was  completed  before 
the  work  was  stopped  by 
Antiochus'  death.  Sulla 
is    said    to    have   carried 

off  some  of  the  columns  to  place  them  in  the  temple 
of  Jupiter  Capitolinus  in  Rome  ;  these  may  either  have 
been  unfinished  ones  prepared  for  the  Athenian  temple, 
or,  possibly,  some  of  those  that  had  already  been  erected. 
The  temple  had  two  rows  of  columns  all  round  it, 
and  eight  columns  in  its  front,  so  that  the  temple 
within   was   tetrastyle,  and    the    cella    must    have    been 


Capital  of  Column  in  Olympieum. 


488  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

rather  long  and  narrow ;  it  was  also  open  to  the  sky, 
and  is  quoted  by  Vitruvius  as  an  example  of  the  hypas- 
thral  temple  —  a  description  which,  being  supposed  to 
apply  to  the  Parthenon,  has  aroused  much  confusion.1 
The  columns  show  the  Corinthian  order  in  its  full 
development,  and  are,  perhaps,  the  finest  extant  example 
of  that  order;  they  are  fifty-six  feet  seven  inches  high. 
The  style  of  the  extant  columns  certainly  has  noth- 
ing in  it  to  preclude  their  attribution  to  the  Hellenistic 
age.  Another  abortive  scheme  for  the  completion  of 
the  temple  was  proposed  in  the  time  of  Augustus, 
when  it  was  suggested  that  all  the  subject  kings  and 
peoples  of  the  empire  should  join  in  the  work,  and 
dedicate  it  to  the  Genius  of  the  Emperor.  It  was, 
however,  reserved  for  Hadrian  to  complete  what  had 
so  often  been  begun  and  left  unfinished.  We  can- 
not tell  exactly  how  much  of  the  structure  was  left 
for  him  to  build ;  but  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  he 
modified  in  any  essential  features  the  plan  of  Cossutius. 
In  the  temple  he  placed  a  colossal  gold  and  ivory  statue 
which  was  probably  a  more  or  less  free  copy  of  the  great 
statue  by  Phidias  at  Olympia. 

Another  monument  that  is,  owing  to  its  excellent 
preservation,  a  conspicuous  feature  of  modern  Athens, 
was  given  to  the  town  by  a  private  individual;  this  is 
the  Tower  of  the  Winds,  as  it  is  commonly  called,  or 
the  Horologium,  built  by  Andronicus  of  Cyrrhus  in 
Syria.     The   building    consists    of   an  octagonal   tower, 

1  See  DSrpfeld,  .////.  Mitth.  XVI.  334. 


ATHENS    IN    HELLENISTIC    AND    ROMAN    TIMES     489 

with  one  of  the  eight  winds  carved  in  relief  near  the 
top  of  each  side;  each  wind  is  represented  by  a  symbol- 
ical figure  with  appropriate  attributes,  and  also  has  his 
name  inscribed.  Thus  Boreas,  the  North  Wind,  is  fully 
clad,  rugged  and  bearded,  and  blows  through  a  shell 
like  a  Triton;  Notus,  the  rainy  South  Wind,  is  soft  and 
youthful,  and  holds  an  inverted  pitcher;  Zephyr,  almost 
nude,  bears  a  garment  full  of  flowers,  and  Lips,  the 
South-west  Wind,  carries  the  aplustre  (or  stern-ornament) 
of  a  ship,  either  as  a  trophy  of  his  violence  or  because 
he  blows  the  ships  home  to  Athens  up  the  Saronic 
Gulf.  The  allegory  is  artificial,  but  readily  under- 
stood ;  at  the  same  time  one  feels  that  these  wind 
gods  are  mere  decorative  impersonations,  no  longer 
divinities  in  whose  existence  the  artist  pretends  to 
believe,  and  the  design,  though  not  without  merit,  is 
rather  clumsy,  especially  in  the  legs  of  the  floating 
figures.  Vitruvius  has  left  us  a  description  of  the 
building,  from  which  we  know  that  in  his  time  it  was 
surmounted  by  a  bronze  Triton,  who  served  as  a 
weathercock,  and  turned  with  the  wind  so  as  to  point 
with  his  staff  to  the  figure  representing  the  quarter 
from  which  it  was  blowing.  On  each  of  the  sides  that 
caught  the  sun,  lines  were  incised,  to  make  it  serve  as 
a  sundial,  by  the  aid  of  a  projecting  bar  of  metal.  This 
was  not,  however,  the  only  appliance  that  justified  the 
name  of  Horologium,  sometimes  given  to  the  building, 
and  served  to  indicate  the  time.  There  appears  to  have 
been  a  water-clock  also,  and  there  are  curious  bowls  and 


49° 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


troughs  cut  in  the  floor,  and  connected  with  a  small 
cistern  at  the  back.  It  is  not  known  exactly  how  these 
worked,  but  there  must  probably  have  been  some  indi- 


TOWER  OF    i  iik   Winds. 
The  three  winds  visible  arc  Boreas  (north),  Sciron  (north-west),  and  Zephyr  (west). 

cator  attached  to  tell  the  time,  as  shown  by  the  amount 
of  water  in  the  channels.  The  interior  of  the  building 
was    made    readily  accessible   by  two  doors,  each  faced 


ATHENS   IN    HELLENISTIC    AND    ROMAN   TIMES     491 

with  a  small  Corinthian  portico.  The  Tower  of  the 
Winds  is  interesting,  not  only  for  its  unique  plan  and 
purpose,  but  also  for  its  position.  It  is  situated  to  the 
north  of  the  Acropolis,  and  at  some  considerable  dis- 
tance from  what  we  have  noticed  as  the  probable  site 
of  the  Agora.  Yet  such  a  building,  which  served  the 
purpose  of  a  clock-tower  in  the  market-place  of  a  modern 
town,  must  have  been  placed  in  the  most  convenient 
position,  close  to  the  centre  of  commerce  and  social  life. 
It  therefore  offers  the  earliest  evidence  that  the  market- 
place of  Roman  times  was  already,  when  it  was  built, 
shifting  toward  the  east ;  we  shall  notice  later  that 
important  commercial  buildings  were  soon  after  erected 
around  it  in  this  region.  Its  exact  date  is  not  recorded, 
though  we  have  a  limit  provided  by  its  mention  in  the 
writings  of  Varro  and  Vitruvius  ;  it  must  belong  either 
to  the  second  century  b.c.  or  the  earlier  part  of  the  first. 
By  rashly  taking  the  part  of  Mithridates  the  Great  in 
his  struggle  with  Rome,  Athens  drew  upon  herself,  in 
86  b.c,  the  summary  vengeance  of  Sulla,  who  seems  to 
have  treated  her  with  less  respect  than  any  previous 
conqueror.  We  have  already  noticed  his  destruction  of 
the  wall  between  the  Sacred  and  Piraic  o-ates.  The 
mound  which  he  threw  up  against  the  city  in  this  region 
has,  incidentally,  proved  a  benefit  to  us,  for  underneath 
it  were  buried  intact  many  of  the  interesting  tombstones 
of  the  Ceramicus.  He  does  not  seem,  however,  to  have 
actually  destroyed  any  buildings,  though  he  carried  off 
some  columns  from   the   Olympieum ;    he  is   only  indi- 


492  ANCIENT    ATHENS 

rectly  responsible  for  the  destruction  of  the  Odeum  of 
Pericles,  situated  beside  the  Theatre.  This  was  con- 
structed mostly  of  wood,  the  spars  of  the  Persian  ships ; 
and  the  tyrant  Aristion,  when  he  took  refuge  in  the 
Acropolis,  burnt  it  down,  lest  the  wood  should  prove 
serviceable  to  Sulla  in  attacking  the  citadel.  It  is  char- 
acteristic of  the  time  that  the  vandalism  of  an  Athenian 
should  have  been  repaired  by  a  barbarian  ;  King  Ario- 
barzanes  of  Cappadocia  undertook  to  rebuild  the  Odeum, 
and  he  must  have  succeeded  well  enough  for  it  still  to  be 
shown  to  visitors  to  Athens  in  succeeding  centuries. 

So  far  all  the  foreign  contributors  to  the  architectural 
splendour  of  Athens  have  come  from  the  East ;  they 
turned  to  Athens  as  the  home  of  the  art  and  civilisa- 
tion to  which  the  Hellenistic  world  owed  its  character. 
When  we  reach  the  epoch  of  Roman  dominion,  we  find 
Hellenism  again  prevalent  among  the  cultured  classes  of 
the  West  no  less  than  in  the  East,  though  in  this  case  it 
was  not  the  system  imposed  by  Greek  conquerors  upon 
their  subjects,  but  the  reaction  of  the  literature  and  art 
of  the  conquered  people  upon  the  barbarian  victor.  The 
result  to  Athens  was  the  same;  the  debt  clue  to  her 
artistic  and  intellectual  preeminence  in  the  ancient  world 
was  again  acknowledged  by  the  erection  of  temples,  por- 
ticoes, libraries,  and  other  buildings  by  the  munificence  of 
Roman  magistrates  and  emperors.  The  earliest  example 
in  Attica  of  which  any  remains  are  left  is  offered  by  the 
smaller  Propylaea  at  Eleusis,  built  by  Appius  Claudius 
Pulcher  in  48  B.C.,  a  gift  that  Cicero  himself  thought  of 


ATHENS   IN    HELLENISTIC    AND    ROMAN    TIMES     493 

emulating;  his  words  to  his  friend  Atticus  on  the  sub- 
ject offer  an  excellent  illustration  of  the  feeling  of 
Romans  of  his  class  about  the  matter ;  he  says  : '  "  I  hear 
Appius  is  building  a  irpoiTvXov  at  Eleusis ;  would  it  be 
out  of  the  way  for  me  too  to  build  one  at  the  Academy? 
You  will  say  '  yes  ' ;  then  write  to  me  and  say  so.  I  have 
a  great  affection  for  Athens  itself;  I  should  like  to  leave 
some  memorial  of  it,  and  hate  the  custom  of  inscribing 
one's  own  name  on  statues  set  up  by  another." 

It  was  especially  under  the  emperors  that  Athens  came 
to  benefit  by  this  feeling.  We  have  already  noticed  that 
the  completion  of  the  Olympieum  had  suggested  itself 
to  the  subject  princes  and  peoples  as  an  acceptable  com- 
pliment to  Augustus ;  and  although  this  project  came  to 
nothing,  other  important  contributions  to  the  convenience 
of  the  Athenians  date  from  his  reign.  The  most  impor- 
tant of  these  is  a  great  market  hall,  or  square  surrounded 
with  porticoes,  of  which  a  portion  has  recently  been 
unearthed  near  the  Tower  of  the  Winds ;  the  great  gate- 
way leading  into  it  from  the  side  of  the  older  Agora  has 
long  been  among  the  conspicuous  monuments  of  Athens  ; 
it  consists  of  a  row  of  four  Doric  columns,  with  a  wider 
intercolumniation  in  the  middle,  and  on  its  architrave  is 
an  inscription  recording  its  erection  from  moneys  given 
by  Julius  Caesar  and  by  Augustus ;  it  was  dedicated  to 
Athena  Archegetis.  Upon  the  top  of  the  pediment  was 
set  a  statue  of  Lucius  Caesar,  who  was  adopted  by 
Augustus  in  12  B.C.,  and  was  regarded  as  successor  to  the 

1  Ep.  ad  Att.  VI.  1. 


49+ 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


Gate  of  Roman  Market. 
Dedicated  to  Athena  Archegetis. 

empire  till  his  death,  thirteen  years  later.  At  the  other 
side  of  the  square,  near  the  Tower  of  the  Winds,  are  the 
foundations  of  a  second  entrance.  An  inscription  just 
within  the  Gate  of  Athena  Archegetis  deals  with  the 
regulations  of  the  oil  market,  and  hence  it  is  supposed 
that  the  building  was  mainly  devoted  to  the  traffic  in  this, 
perhaps  the  most  important  of  the  natural  products  of 
Athens.  However  this  may  be,  the  spread  of  great 
market  halls  in  this  direction  confirms  the  impression 
given  by  the  position  chosen  for  the  Tower  of  the  Winds, 
that  the  commercial  Agora  at  Athens  had  moved  in 
Roman  times  some  distance  to  the  east  of  its  site  in 
Greek    times.      Yet    another    building,    of    which    some 


ATHENS   IN    HELLENISTIC   AND    ROMAN   TIMES     495 

arches  are  still  standing,  close  to  the  Tower  of  the  Winds, 
bears  a  dedication  to  Athena  Archegetis  and  the  mem- 
bers of  the  imperial  family. 

Another  dedication,  to  Rome  and  Augustus,  is  still 
to  be  seen  in  the  most  conspicuous  position  on  the 
Acropolis,  in  the  open  space  in  front  of  the  Parthenon. 
It  took  the  form  of  a  small  circular  temple  of  the  Ionic 
order;  the  forms  of  the  columns  and  of  the  architectural 
decoration  were  closely  modelled  upon  the  Erechtheum, 
but  they  entirely  lack  the  distinction  of  fine  workman- 
ship that  gives  to  those  forms  their  proper  value.  The 
inscription,  which  is  carved  in  large  letters  upon  the 
architrave,  records  that  the  temple  was  dedicated  to 
Rome  and  Augustus  by  the  people  of  Athens.  We  must 
therefore  attribute  to  the  degenerate  Athenians,  and  not 
to  any  outside  influence,  the  lack  of  taste  which  allowed 
them  to  set,  in  a  place  that  had  for  so  long  a  time  been 
kept  clear  so  as  to  allow  the  Parthenon  to  have  its 
full  effect,  a  temple  which  had  nothing,  either  in  its 
associations  or  its  artistic  character,  to  justify  its  position. 
Another  monument  of  the  same  age  which  must  also  be 
reckoned  as  a  disfigurement  rather  than  an  ornament 
to  the  Acropolis,  is  the  great  basis  for  the  equestrian 
statue  of  Agrippa,  which  still  stands  in  such  a  position 
as  to  mar  the  effect  of  the  Propylaea  and  the  general 
aspect  of  the  entrance  of  the  Acropolis.  The  people 
of  Athens,  who  were  again  responsible,  had  indeed 
good  reason  to  honour  Agrippa,  both  for  his  services 
in  general  and  for  the  theatre  which  he  had  built  them 


496  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

in  the  Ceramicus.  This  theatre  was  a  building  intended 
for  lectures;  there  is  no  authority  for  the  name  Odeum, 
sometimes  given  to  it,  nor  have  we  any  certain  evidence 
as  to  its  position  ;  it  was  sometimes  briefly  called  the 
Agrippeum.  On  the  side  of  the  Propylaea  opposite 
the  pedestal  of  Agrippa  there  is  an  inscription  to 
Germanicus,  cut  on  a  basis  that  carried  also  its  origi- 
nal inscription,1  recording  a  dedication  by  the  knights 
of  Athens,  sometime  before  the  middle  of  the  fifth 
century,  of  a  statue  from  the  spoils  of  a  victory.  It  is 
probable  that  we  have  here  only  an  example  of  the 
practice  deprecated  by  Cicero,  of  putting  new  inscrip- 
tions on  old  monuments;  for  Pausanias  saw  the  origi- 
nal statue,  and  its  fellow  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Propylaea,  when  he  visited  Athens,  and  mistook  them, 
owing  to  a  name  mentioned  in  the  inscription,  for  those 
of  the  sons  of  Xenophon. 

The  reigns  of  the  succeeding  emperors  have  not  left 
much  trace  upon  Athens.  Even  the  visit  of  Nero  does 
not  seem  to  have  led  to  any  additions,  beyond  the  new 
stage  which  we  have  noticed  in  the  Theatre;  he  also 
dedicated  the  shields  of  which  the  traces  may  still  be 
seen  on   the  architrave  of  the   Parthenon.2 

A  monument  which,  owing  to  its  position  and  the 
accident  of  its  preservation,  is  one  of  the  first  to  attract 
the  attention  of  a  visitor  to   Athens  at  the  present  day, 

1  There  is  some  confusion  about  this  inscription,  which  was  twice  cut,  once  with 
the  block  inverted;   bul  it  must  refer  to  the  original  erection  of  the  statue. 

2Thisfac1  has  been  discovered  and  the  inscription  deciphered  by  Mr.  Andrews, 
in  1896. 


ATHENS   IN    HELLENISTIC    AND    ROMAN    TIMES     497 

is  that  of  Philopappus,  which  crowns  the  Museum  Hill. 
His  full  name  was  C.  Julius  Antiochus  Philopappus, 
and  he  was  the  descendant  of  a  dynasty  of  kings  of 
Commagene,  who  had  also  held  various   Roman  magis- 


MONUMENT   OF    PHILOPAPPUS. 


trades.  The  monument  was  set  up  between  1 14  and 
116  a.d.  It  consists  of  a  lofty  structure,  with  a  concave 
curve  on  the  side  facing  the  Acropolis.  Its  lower  part 
is  taken  up  by  a  frieze,  representing  the  deceased  in  a 


2  K 


498  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

chariot  with  his  insignia  of  office ;  above  these  were 
three  niches,  in  which  were  statues,  now  only  partially 
preserved,  of  Philopappus  himself,  of  his  grandfather, 
from  whom  he  took  his  name,  the  last  king  of  the 
dynasty,  and  of  Seleucus  Nicator,  its  founder.  The 
position  of  the  monument  is  chiefly  famous  for  its 
magnificent  view  of  the  Acropolis. 

The  latest  epoch  in  which  ancient  Athens  received 
a  considerable  addition  to  its  public  buildings  was  that 
of  Hadrian.  While  his  imperial  munificence  beautified 
a  great  number  of  the  chief  cities  of  the  empire,  Athens 
was  especially  selected  for  his  attention,  as  was  only  to 
be  expected  both  from  its'  traditions  and  from  the  Em- 
peror's predilections.  We  have  already  noticed  that  he 
at  last  completed  the  colossal  temple  of  the  Olympian 
Zeus ;  but  this  was  only  a  portion  of  a  more  compre- 
hensive scheme,  which  is  sufficiently  attested  by  the  in- 
scriptions which  he  caused  to  be  incised  on  the  two 
sides  of  the  arch  which  is  still  standing  close  to  the 
great  temple.  On  the  one  side,  facing  the  old  town, 
is  the  line :  — 

ai'S   eta   'Adrjvai,  ©^crews  17  Trplv  7roAis, 

on  the  other :  — 

nib   eta    Abptavov,  KOVYt  ®rjcriu><;  7roAi§. 

By  this  somewhat  pompous  claim,  he  deliberately  places 
his  benefits  to  Athens  on  the  same  footing  as  those 
of  Theseus,  who  first  formed  one  great  city  out  of 
the  scattered  townships  of  Attica,  and  alludes  to  his 
foundation    of    Nova?    Athcnne,    a    considerable    exten- 


a    |el   |ffl|    1®J    @    @ 


ii  in  a  in  iai  id  fir 


®    ®t    a 


ATHKNS   IN    HELLENISTIC   AND    ROMAN    TIMES     499 

sion  of  the  town  beyond  the  limits  of  the  old  wall, 
in  the  region  now  occupied  by  the  Constitution  Square 
(SwTayixa)  and  the  royal  palace  and  garden.  The 
precinct  of  the  Olympieum  was  filled  with  statues  of 
the  Emperor,  as  was  also  the  Theatre,  where  we  have 
already  noticed  the  alterations  made  in  his  honour. 
Other  buildings  erected  by  Hadrian  in  Athens  were  on 


Wist  End  of  Library  of  Hadrian. 


a  correspondingly  magnificent  scale.  One  of  these,  of 
which  considerable  remains  may  still  be  seen,  is  prob- 
ably the  building  described  by  Pausanias  as  decorated 
with  a  hundred  columns  of  Phrygian  marble,  and  with 
a  similar  decoration  on  the  walls  of  the  porticoes  that 
surrounded  it,  with  chambers  finished  with  gold  and 
alabaster,  with  paintings  and  with  statues.  This  build- 
ing surrounded  a  great  court  in  which  there  was  origi- 
nally a  basin    of   water;    later    this  was   filled   up,   and 


5°° 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


curved  porticoes  were  erected  above  its  place ;  these 
were  later  built  into  a  church,  but  parts  of  their  mosaic 
pavements  still  remain.  There  were  exedrae,  curved 
and  oblong,  in  addition  to  the  chambers ;  and  in  the 
chambers    was    stored    a    fine    library.      At    each    end 


(  >DEUM   OF    R.EGILLA. 
Built  by  Herodes  Atticus;    outside. 

this  magnificent  building,  of  which  we  have  no  special 
name  recorded,  unless  it  was  called  the  Library  of  Ha- 
drian,1 was  terminated  by  a  wall  decorated  outside  by  en- 
gaged columns,  which  are  still  to  some  extent  preserved. 
Other  buildings  constructed  by  Hadrian  in  Athens  were 
a  gymnasium  with  a  hundred  columns  of  Libyan  marble, 
1  I  be  i 1 1 H 'ii  name,  Stoa  oi  Hadrian,  rests  on  no  ancienl  authority. 


o  < 

Ed  "° 

H  o 

5  ^ 


ATHENS   IN    HELLENISTIC    AND    ROMAN    TIMES     503 

temples  of  Hera  and  of  Zeus  Panhellenius,  and  a  pan- 
theon or  temple  of  all  the  gods,  in  which  he  set  up 
a  record  of  his  various  benefactions  to  the  cities  of  his 
empire,  partly  quoted  by  Pausanias.  Near  the  Tower 
of  the  Winds  was  also  the  Agoranomion,  or  official 
market  hall,  belonging  to  the  same  age. 

The  munificence  of  the  Emperor  to  Athens  was  emu- 
lated by  one  of  its  citizens,  who  must  be  recorded  as  the 
last  great  Athenian  who  made  a  material  contribution  to 
the  beauty  of  his  native  city.  This  was  Herodes  Atticus, 
a  philosopher  and  rhetorician  who  held  many  public 
offices  in  Athens,  and  contributed  to  keep  up  the  splen- 
dour of  public  worship,  especially  by  his  great  celebra- 
tion of  the  Panathenaic  games.  On  this  occasion  he 
provided  the  Athenian  Stadium  with  seats  of  Pentelic 
marble,  and  is  said  to  have  exhausted  the  old  Pentelic 
quarries  for  the  purpose.  His  greatest  work,  however, 
was  the  Odeum,  which  he  built  in  memory  of  his  wife 
Regilla,  and  which  is  still  in  a  good  state  of  preserva- 
tion. Its  exterior,  with  arches  of  Piraic  limestone,  is  a 
most  conspicuous  feature  in  any  viewr  of  the  south  side 
of  the  Acropolis.  Within,  the  ranges  of  seats  are  well 
preserved,  and  the  position  of  the  low  stage,  and  of  the 
steps  leading  up  to  it  from  the  orchestra,  may  readily  be 
distinguished.  It  resembles  in  most  respects  the  thea- 
tre of  Roman  type  as  described  by  Vitruvius.  It  was 
the  largest  and  most  splendid  building  of  its  kind  in 
Greece ;  indeed,  its  size  wras  such  as  to  suit  it  for  any 
dramatic  purposes,  and   not  only  for   the   musical   per- 


5°4 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


formances  and  contests  suggested  by  its  name.  It  was 
completely  covered  by  a  roof  of  cedar  wood,  and,  con- 
sidering its  great  size,  this  must  have  been  no  mean 
work  of  engineering. 

Some  remains  have  been  found  of  other  buildings 
which    may  probably  be    assigned    to    about    the    same 

age  —  notably 
those  of  baths, 
some  within  the 
royal  garden, 
some  in  the  gar- 
den near  the  Zap- 
peion,  —  both  of 
them  in  Hadri- 
an's new  quarter. 
But  the  enumera- 
tion need  be  ex- 
tended no  farther. 
With  the  age  of 
Hadrian,  and  the 
visit  of  Pausanias, 
the  picture  of  ancient  Athens  which  we  can  bring  before 
our  eyes  may  be  regarded  as  complete,  so  far  as  it  can 
here  be  presented. 

There  is,  however,  one  event  that  still  calls  for  some 
mention,  partly  because  it  is  the  beginning  of  the  new 
order  of  things,  partly  because  certain  misconceptions 
are  common  in  regard  to  it.  This  is  the  visit  of  St. 
Paul    to   Athens.     The    record,   as    given    in    the   Acts 


Roman  Baths. 

Near  Olympieum  ;  east  end  of  Acropolis  in  background. 


ATHENS   IN    HELLENISTIC    AND    ROMAN   TIMES     505 

of  the  Apostles,  is  as  follows:  Paul,  like  Socrates,  dis- 
puted in  the  Agora  daily  with  those  that  met  with  him  ; 
then  certain  philosophers  of  the  Epicureans  and  of  the 
Stoics,  wishing  to  hear  what  he  had  to  say  more 
quietly  and  at  more  leisure  than  was  possible  in  the 
crowded  market-place,  led  him  up  on  to  the  Are- 
opagus, and  there  he  addressed  them.  At  the  end  of 
his  speech  some  mocked,  and  others  said,  "  We  will 
hear  thee  again  of  this  matter."  So  Paul  departed 
from  among  them.  The  narrative  is  perfectly  simple 
and  intelligible,  and  there  need  have  been  no  confu- 
sion about  it,  but  for  the  unfortunate  suggestion  that 
he  was  placed  on  trial  before  the  court  of  Areopagus, 
which  at  that  time  sat,  not  on  the  hill  from  which  it 
takes  its  name,  but  in  the  Stoa  Basileios  in  the  Agora.1 
It  is  evident  that  Paul  had  done  nothing  to  bring 
him  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  court,  nor  is  there, 
in  the  account  we  possess,  any  hint  of  his  being  sum- 
moned to  appear  before  it,  tried,  or  acquitted.  The 
name  Areopagus  is  used  in  its  local  sense,  referring  to 
the  hill  itself,  not  to  the  court.  There  is,  therefore, 
no  need  to  disturb  the  associations  connected  with  a 
spot  that  is  consecrated  by  the  first  energy  of  the  new 
religion  as  well  as  by  some  of  the  most  hallowed  tra- 
ditions of  the  old. 

The  history  of  Athens  in  the  concluding  age  of  the 
old    religion    and    philosophy,    and    of    its    schools    and 

1  This  view  is  maintained  by  Curtius  ;    it   is  carefully  refuted  by  A.  F.  Findlay  in 
the  Annual  of  British  School  at  Athens,  1894-1S95. 


506  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

intellectual  life,  offers  a  fascinating  subject  for  study; 
but  we  know  too  little  of  the  manner  in  which  it  affected 
the  external  appearance  of  the  city  to  have  occasion  to 
dwell  on  it  here.  In  addition  to  the  old  resorts  of 
philosophers,  the  porticoes  of  the  Agora,  and  the  gar- 
dens of  the  Academy  and  the  Lyceum,  there  were  doubt- 
less many  lecture  halls  like  that  built  by  Agrippa.  The 
prestige  of  Athens  had  probably  saved  her  to  a  great 
degree  from  the  wholesale  spoliation  of  works  of  art 
that  transferred  so  many  of  the  finest  statues  to  Rome 
or  to  Constantinople ;  on  the  official  establishment  of 
Christianity,  many  statues,  including  the  gold  and  ivory 
statue  in  the  Parthenon,  probably  met  a  more  sum- 
mary fate.  We  have  already  noticed  the  way  in 
which  many  temples,  among  them  the  Parthenon,  the 
Erechtheum,  and  the  Theseum,  were  preserved  more  or 
less  intact  by  being  transferred  to  the  service  of  Christi- 
anity ;  their  further  vicissitudes  at  the  hand  of  Greek 
and  Latin,  Turk  and  Frank,  only  concern  us  so  far  as 
they  have  left  their  traces  on  the  buildings ;  the  most 
disastrous  of  all  were  the  bombardment  and  capture  of 
the  Acropolis  by  the  Venetians  under  Morosini  in  1687, 
and  by  the  Turks  during  the  War  of  Independence  in 
1827. 

We  do  not  know  how  long  the  circuit  of  the  town 
walls  remained  as  it  had  been  planned  by  Themistocles, 
with  the  extension  toward  the  east  added  by  Hadrian. 
'I  he  walls  were  restored  in  later  imperial  times.  A  more 
modern  line  of  fortification,  implying  that  the  town  had 


ATHENS   IN    HELLENISTIC    AND    ROMAN   TIMES     507 

shrunk  to  comparatively  small  dimensions,  is  probably 
to  be  assigned  to  the  period  of  the  Uukes  of  Athens  ; 
this  contributed  both  to  the  destruction  and  to  the  sub- 
sequent preservation  of  some  ancient  buildings,  for  it 
included  in  its  line  the  Stoa  of  Attalus  and  the  north 
wall  of  the  Library  of  Hadrian.  These  indications  suf- 
fice to  show  its  position ;  it  enclosed  the  space  immedi- 
ately to  the  north  of  the  Acropolis,  to  which  its  two 
extremities  were  joined ;  at  the  same  time,  probably, 
an  outwork  was  built  to  include  the  scena  of  the 
Dionysiac  Theatre  and  of  the  Odeum  of  Herodes  Atti- 
cus,  and  this  outwork  has,  in  the  latter  case,  led  to  the 
preservation  of  the  building. 

When  Athens  was  selected  as  the  capital  of  the  new 
kingdom  of  Greece,  under  Otto  of  Bavaria,  the  German 
archaeologist  Ross  was  appointed  to  the  administration  of 
antiquities,  and  had  his  large  and  far-seeing  projects  been 
carried  out,  Athenian  topography  would  probably  have 
offered,  at  the  present  day,  a  more  limited  field  for  conjec- 
ture. He  wished  to  remove,  as  far  as  possible,  all  houses 
and  traces  of  modern  occupation,  not  only  from  the 
Acropolis  and  its  immediate  vicinity,  but  also  from  what 
was  the  most  central  point  of  the  ancient  town,  to  the 
north  of  the  Acropolis  and  Areopagus.  The  modern 
town,  with  its  broad,  straight  streets  and  principal  build- 
ings, the  Royal  Palace,  the  University,  the  Academy,  and 
the  National  Museum,  is  indeed  laid  out  almost  entirely 
on  the  level  ground  to  the  north  of  the  Acropolis 
and  on  the  slope  of  Lycabettus.     But  the  old  town  of 


5oS  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

Turkish  times,  with  its  bazaars  and  narrow,  winding 
streets,  still  clings  to  the  north  slope  of  the  Acropolis. 
Something  is  perhaps  gained  by  this  in  picturesque 
effect ;  but  the  older  and  more  characteristic  features  of 
this  quarter  are  rapidly  disappearing,  to  make  way  for 
modern  houses,  and  thus  the  project  of  Ross,  to  clear 
this  region  entirely,  and  leave  it  open  after  excavation 
as  a  public  park,  is  now  farther  than  ever  from  realisa- 
tion. The  exact  position  of  the  Agora  and  the  build- 
ings round  it  therefore  remains,  and  seems  likely  to 
remain  for  the  present,  a  matter  of  conjecture.  From 
the  Acropolis,  however,  and  its  immediate  surround- 
ings, all  the  remains  of  post-classical  ages  have  been 
removed,  partly  by  Ross  and  partly  by  his  successors, 
with  a  zeal  that  has  not  escaped  criticism  in  some 
instances  —  notably  in  the  case  of  the  tall  Frankish 
tower  that  stood  in  front  of  the  temple  of  Nike,  and 
that  forms  so  conspicuous  a  feature  in  all  views  of  the 
Acropolis  previous  to  1875.  On  the  whole,  whatever 
errors  in  detail  may  have  been  committed,  it  is  impos- 
sible for  any  one  who  compares  the  present  state  of 
the  Acropolis  with  that  shown  in  old  views  of  the 
beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century,  not  to  admit  that 
the  changes  have  been  for  the  better.  Then  the  scanty 
remains  of  ancient  buildings  were  partly  buried  beneath 
accumulations  of  debris,  partly  hidden  or  obstructed 
by  the  mean  hovels  of  modern  occupants ;  now  they 
are  cleared  so  that  they  can  be  seen,  so  far  as  they 
are  still  standing,  as  clearly  as  they  could  be  seen  in 


ATHENS   IN    HELLENISTIC   AND    ROMAN   TIMES     509 

ancient  times,  and  there  is  nothing  to  hinder  the 
student  in  tracing  out  their  plans  or  noting  the  rela- 
tion and  workmanship  of  their  fallen  portions. 

Another  matter  on  which  considerable  difference  of 
opinion  is  possible  is  the  question  of  restoration.  When 
all  the  portions  of  an  ancient  building  are  lying  around  its 
foundation,  it  may  seem  at  first  sight  a  harmless  and  even 
desirable  proceeding  to  rebuild  it  again  out  of  its  original 
materials.  We  have,  however,  seen,  in  the  case  of  the 
Parthenon,  a  warning  of  the  impossibility  of  replacing 
the  drums  of  a  Doric  column  when  once  they  have  fallen ; 
the  fluting  of  the  columns  can  never  regain  that  perfect 
regularity  which  it  obtained  at  first  by  being  carried 
out  after  the  column  was  erected;  and  in  its  absence,  the 
result  is  an  unsatisfactory  and  even  revolting  appearance, 
as  of  a  galvanised  corpse.  In  the  case  of  the  little  temple 
of  Nike,  indeed,  the  restored  building  is  a  distinct  gain 
to  a  distant  view  of  the  Acropolis,  and  reproduces  pretty 
nearly  the  original  effect ;  though  even  here  the  lines  of 
the  temple,  when  seen  from  near,  are  displeasing  to  the 
eye.  The  very  perfection  of  Greek  architectural  form 
makes  its  reconstruction  from  dismembered  blocks  an 
impossibility.  The  Erechtheum  is  perhaps  the  most  ex- 
tensively restored  building  in  Athens ;  and  here,  too,  the 
patchy  effect  is  painful,  partly,  no  doubt,  owing  to  the 
extensive  use  of  brick,  but  partly  also  to  the  inherent 
conditions  of  the  task.  The  policy  dictated  alike  by 
theory  and  by  experience  is  a  simple  one  —  not,  as  a  rule, 
to  attempt   to   replace  what   has  already  fallen,  but  to 


510  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

strengthen,  where  necessary,  whatever  is  left  standing,  so 
that  no  more  may  fall.  This  principle  is  being  acted 
upon  in  an  admirable  manner  in  the  present  restoration 
of  the  Parthenon,  which  is  being  carried  out  under  the 
advice  of  an  international  commission.  New  blocks  of 
marble  are  being  used  where  necessary  to  replace  those 
that  are  hopelessly  shattered,  or  to  support  those  that  are 
in  danger  of  falling;  but  these  new  blocks  are  placed,  as 
far  as  possible,  where  they  are  invisible  or  inconspicuous ; 
the  object  is  to  leave  the  appearance  of  the  building 
unchanged,  while  its  stability  is  increased.  From  the 
point  of  view  of  sentiment,  as  well  as  of  artistic  effect, 
this  is  the  most  desirable  result;  and  the  student  will  find 
nothing  to  deceive  him  or  hinder  his  investigations.  If 
we  could  hope  ever  to  see  the  Acropolis  as  it  was  seen 
by  Pausanias,  considerable  sacrifices  might  be  tolerated 
for  such  a  consummation.  But,  since  this  is  impossible, 
the  best  policy  is  to  provide  that  succeeding  generations 
may  not  have  to  deplore  the  loss  of  anything  that  we  can 
now  enjoy. 


CHAPTER   XIII 

PA  US  AN/ AS  IN  ATHENS 

b  8k  iv  rrj  avyy  pu(pfj  pot  rfj  'At$l8l  iiravopOwp.a  eyeVero,  pi)  to.  TrdvTa  p.€ 

i(f>t^rjs  to.  8k  fidXuTTu  a£ia  pvrjpyjs  iirt.\€£dp.(.vov  obr'  avrwv  elprjKtvai,  o^AoWod 

8rj  irpo  tov  Xoyov  tov  es  27raprtaras  '    iflOl  yap  i$  ap^s   r/6e\r]<TCv  6  Ao'yo? 

oltto   7roXAwv   km   ovk   agiov   arf>7]yr)<T£<D<;,    o'jv   e/caoroi   irapb.   o-(f>t(n    Xiyovcriv, 

OLTroxplvai   Ta    d£ioAoyu>Tura.      ws    ovv    tv   /Je/^ouAtu/xeVo?    (ovk)  1    eoriv    oirov 

TrapaBr')(Top.aL.  . 

ri'i  —  Paus.  III.  xi.  i. 

Nothing  would  help  us  to  realise  the  appearance  of 
the  town  of  Athens,  after  so  many  different  ages  had 
contributed  to  its  beauty  or  splendour,  so  well  as  an  imag- 
inary walk  among  its  streets  and  temples ;  and,  happily, 
a  guide  and  companion  for  such  a  walk  offers  himself  in 
the  person  of  Pausanias,  who  did  in  the  time  of  Hadrian 
just  what  we  should  wish  to  do,  and  has  left  us  a  full 
description  of  what  he  saw,  and  of  much  that  was  told 
him  about  it.  Before,  however,  we  can  trust  ourselves 
to  his  guidance,  we  must  qualify  ourselves  to  appreciate 
his  descriptions  and  avoid  the  necessity  of  interruptions 
in  the  course  of  his  narration,  by  some  preliminary 
inquiries  as  to  his  methods  in  general,  and  as  to  the 
particular    route    or    routes    which    he    followed    in   his 

1  This  ovk,  which  gives  another  meaning  to  the  sentence,  was  evidently  inserted 
by  some  scribe  who  misunderstood  the  words.  Pausanias  means,  "  I  shall  intention- 
ally omit  many  things." 

5" 


5i2  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

ramble  through  Athens.  Both  of  these  questions  have 
given  rise  to  much  discussion  and  to  many  treatises ; 
here  it  will  only  be  possible  to  give  a  summary  of  what 
appear  to  be  the  most  probable  conclusions. 

In  the  first  place,  it  is  clear  that  Pausanias  was  a  man 
who  actually  travelled  in  Greece,  and  made  notes  on 
the  spot,  somewhat  indiscriminately,  perhaps,  especially 
in  the  earlier  portion  of  his  work.  He  worked  these 
notes  up  later  into  the  book  which  we  now  possess ; 
and  he  has  told  us,  in  the  sentence  quoted  at  the  begin- 
ning of  this  chapter,  how  he  intended  from  the  first  to 
select  only  the  more  interesting  and  important  things 
that  he  saw  or  heard ;  and  that,  in  revising  the  notes  for 
his  first  book  on  Attica,  he  had  to  apply  this  process  of 
selection  even  more  stringently.  When  writing  his  book 
he  doubtless  made  use  of  earlier  authors,  especially  his- 
torians, to  amplify  the  information  in  his  notes  ;  but  both 
the  matter  and  the  manner  of  his  descriptions  of  the 
places  he  visited  preclude  the  notion  that  his  work  was 
that  of  a  mere  compiler,  who  had  perhaps  seen  the  places 
he  describes,  but  who  depended  mainly  for  his  facts  upon 
the  published  works  of  others.  On  the  contrary,  his 
very  mistakes  are  such  as  are  only  explicable  in  the  case 
of  a  man  who  had  made  in  his  travels  rough  notes, 
which  he  sometimes  misread  or  misunderstood  after- 
wards ;  and  any  one  who  reads  Pausanias  upon  an  ancient 
site,  where  his  words  can  be  confronted  with  the  revela- 
tions of  recent  excavation,  cannot  fail  to  realise  that  he 
has  before  him  the  work  of  an  honest  and  trustworthy,  if 


PAUSANIAS   IN   ATHENS  513 

somewhat  uncritical,  traveller,  full  of  an  antiquarian 
interest  in  the  records  of  early  religion  and  art,  and 
ea^er  to  hear  and  to  chronicle  the  information  that  was 
provided  in  plentiful  measure  for  travellers  like  him  by 
the  professional  guides  and  cicerones  who  were  to  be 
found  on  all  the  chief  sites  in  Greece.  The  information 
given  by  such  a  class  of  men  was  probably  no  more 
trustworthy  in  those  days  than  it  is  now;  but,  such  as  it 
was,  it  is  recorded  for  us  by  a  writer  who  had  before  his 
eyes  the  objects  to  which  it  referred. 

The  route  followed  by  Pausanias  in  his  walks  through 
Athens  is  clear  in  the  main,  but  has  given  rise  to  almost 
endless  dispute  and  discussion  as  regards  certain  parts 
of  it.  It  is  necessary,  in  an  attempt  at  a  continuous 
account,  to  choose  in  these  cases  what  appears  to  be 
the  most  probable  course,  and  to  reserve  the  discussion 
of  alternatives  for  a  note  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 
To  prevent  any  misunderstanding,  a  clear  warning  must 
be  given  here  that  there  is  sometimes  insufficient  evi- 
dence to  justify  the  apparent  dogmatism  of  the  text, 
which  is  merely  a  matter  of  convenience. 

Pausanias  1  approached  Athens  by  sea,  and  landed  at 
the  Piraeus,  of  which  he  gives  a  short  account.  He 
first  describes  the  approach  to  Athens  by  the  Phaleric 
road.  Beside  this  road  he  saw  the  roofless  and  door- 
less  walls  of  a  temple  of  Hera,  said  to  have  been  burnt 
by    the    Persians    when    they    captured    Athens.      This 

1  Throughout  this  sketch  I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Frazer's  notes,  and  wish  to  make 
a  general  acknowledgment  here,  in  addition  to  quoting  him  in  special  cases. 

2  L 


5i4  ANCIENT  ATHENS 

was  one  of  those  left  in  ruins  to  remind  the  Athenians 
of  the  event;  in  strange  contrast  with  it  must  have 
been  the  statue  of  the  goddess  made  by  Alcamenes. 
Just  within  the  Itonian  Gate  was  the  monument  of 
the  Amazon  Antiope.  Had  he  continued  in  this  direc- 
tion he  would  next  have  come  to  the  Olympieum,  and 
so  the  whole  of  his  route  would  have  been  different. 
But  he  evidently  was  informed,  on  reaching  the  city, 
that  the  right  place  to  begin  a  visit  to  Athens  was  at 
the  Dipylon  Gate,  which  offered  the  most  convenient 
means  of  access  from  the  harbour  town  to  the  centre 
of  civic  life,  and  which  was  accordingly  supplied  with 
an  imposing  avenue  leading  to  the  Agora.  A  con- 
sideration that  would  appeal  still  more  strongly  to 
Pausanias  was  that  it  was  from  the  Dipylon  that  the 
sacred  procession  started  at  the  Panathenaea  and  on 
other  festal  occasions.  Accordingly  he  repeated  his 
approach  to  the  city,  this  time  by  the  road  from  the 
Piraeus,  which  followed  much  the  same  line  as  the 
modern  carriage  road.  This  had  the  advantage  also 
of  leading  him  past  some  ruins  that  were  closely 
associated  with  the  greatness  and  the  fall  of  Athens  — 
the  remains  of  the  Long  Walls,  restored  in  Conon's 
time  after  their  destruction  at  the  close  of  the  Pelo- 
ponnesian  War,  but  finally  dismantled  by  Sulla,  and  no 
longer,  under  the  empire,  of  any  service.  As  he  drew 
near  to  the  city,  he  saw  the  tombs,  not  so  numerous 
along  this  road  as  on  some  others,  but  including  among 
them    those   <>f    Menander   and   Euripides,   the  latter  a 


PAUSANIAS   IN    ATHENS  515 

cenotaph,  for  the  poet  died  at   the  court  of  Archelaus 
in  Macedonia. 

Pausanias  did  not  enter  the  city  by  the  Piraic  Gate, 
up  the  hill  to  the  right,  but  kept  to  the  convenient  and 
level  road  which  entered  by  the  Dipylon  Gate,  joining 
there  the  Sacred  Way  from  Eleusis.  Here  he  did  not 
stop  to  examine  the  numerous  tombs,  knowing  that  he 
should  pass  them  again  later,  on  leaving  the  city,  but 
passed  on  at  once  within  the  walls.  Here  the  first  thing 
he  saw  on  entering  was  a  building  of  which  the  walls  can 
still  in  all  probability  be  recognised,  the  storehouse  in 
which  were  kept  the  "  properties  "  and  appliances  for  the 
processions  that  started  from  this  spot.  Probably,  how- 
ever, he  did  not  enter  this  hall,  for  he  does  not  mention 
the  paintings  or  the  statues  —  among  them  those  of 
Socrates  and  Isocrates  —  which  it  contained.  Near  by 
was  a  temple  of  Demeter  and  Persephone  and  Iacchus, 
the  statues  by  Praxiteles  j1  it  was  probably  a  sort  of  house 
of  call  for  the  sacred  processions,  as  they  passed  out  of 
the  city  from  the  Agora,  to  follow  the  Sacred  Way  to 
Eleusis,  and  emphasised  the  start  of  the  processional 
road  outward,  just  as  the  storehouse  indicated  the 
beginning  of  the  festal  route  into  the  city.  From  the 
space  just  within  the  Dipylon  Gate,  as  he  turned  to  ap- 
proach the  Agora,  or,  as  he  calls  it,  the   Ceramicus,-  he 

1  Those  who  believe  in  an  elder  Praxiteles  take  this  as  their  chief  evidence,  be- 
cause of  the  inscription  on  the  wall  in  "  Attic  letters."  But  the  matter  is  very  doubt- 
ful.    See  Frazer's  note,  ad  loc, 

2  This  use  of  the  word  is  not  found  in  early  times.  Ceramicus  used  alone  in 
earlier  writers  usually  means  the  outer  Ceramicus,  the  cemetery. 


5i6  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

saw  before  him,  sloping  gently  upward,  a  broad  avenue, 
bordered  on  each  side  by  porticoes,  which  extended  its 
whole  length.1  Thus  Athens,  at  first  sight,  must  have 
given  the  impression  of  a  fine  and  regularly  laid  out  city 
like  the  Piraeus  —  an  impression  soon  after  to  be  dis- 
pelled by  the  narrow  and  winding  streets  of  its  older 
quarters. 

Behind  the  portico  on  the  left  were  temples  of  various 
gods,  and  a  gymnasium,  called  that  of  Hermes.  There 
was  also  another  building  which  has  more  definite  asso- 
ciations for  us  —  the  house  of  Pulytion,  once  proverbial 
for  its  magnificence.  Its  former  owner  was  one  of  the 
accomplices  of  Alcibiades  in  the  travesty  of  the  Eleu- 
sinian  mysteries  that  was  held  partly  in  this  house, 
partly  by  night  in  the  orchestra  of  the  Dionysiac 
Theatre ;  the  mutilation  of  the  Hennas  was  attributed 
to  these  same  revellers ;  and  Pulytion's  house  was 
dedicated  to  Dionysus,  probably  to  pacify  the  god  for 
the  profanation  of  his  theatre.  In  it  there  were  set  up 
statues  of  Dionysus  Melpomenos,  and  also  a  group  of 
gods,  including  Athena  the  Healer,  made  and  dedicated 
by  the  sculptor  Eubulides.  The  foundation  of  a  colossal 
group  of  statuary,  with  the  name  of  the  sculptor  Eubu- 
lides, was  found  in  1837  just  to  the  west  of  the  church 
of  the  Asomata,  and  opposite  the  railway  station  in  the 

1  I  see  no  difficulty  in  recognising  this  as  the  road  in  Him.  Or.  III.  12,  65  tvdvrevfjs 
re  Kal  Xfios  Karajialvuv  tivwOev  o"x'.fc'  T<*s  eKartpwdev  waparfT  a/x^ai  (rrods.  Surely 
one  can  ascend  a  road  which  slopes  gently  down  from  the  Agora.  No  possible  posi- 
tion for  a  gate  on  this  side   can   be  found,  whence   a  road  would  slope  down  toward 

the  Agora. 


PAUSANIAS   IN    ATHENS  517 

Hermes  Street.  It  is  very  probable  that  the  basis  is  the 
one  seen  by  Pausanias.1  If  so,  we  know  the  exact  position 
of  the  house  of  Puiytion,  and  may  fairly  infer  that  of  the 
other  buildings  that  were  near  it.  The  head  from  the 
statue  of  Athena,  found  near  the  basis,  and  now  in 
the  Museum  at  Athens,  probably  belongs  to  the  group ; 
and,  if  so,  it  is  of  peculiar  interest,  as  representing  the 
only  statue  now  extant  —  apart  from  architectural  sculp- 
tures—  which  we  can  identify  as  having  been  actually 
seen  by  Pausanias  during  his  visit  to  Athens.  Adjoin- 
ing the  house  of  Puiytion  was  another  shrine  of  Dio- 
nysus, with  clay  figures  representing  the  entertainment 
of  the  god  by  King  Amphictyon,  and  a  statue  of  Pega- 
sus of  Eleutherae,  who  was  said  to  have  been  the  first  to 
transfer  the  local  cult  of  his  town  to  Athens.  This 
shrine,  near  the  town  gate,  seems  to  bear  the  same 
relation  to  the  annual  progress  of  Dionysus  to  the 
Academy  that  the  temple  of  Demeter  bears  to  the 
Eleusinian  procession. 

At  the  other  end  of  the  broad  avenue  leading  up  from 
the  Dipylon  Gate,  Pausanias  entered  the  Agora,  the  old 
centre  of  Athenian  civic  life,  though  in  his  time  the  com- 
mercial market-place  had  probably  been  shifted  farther 
to  the  east.  He  entered  it  at  its  lowest  corner,  and,  as 
seen  from  this  point  of  view,  it  appeared  as  a  rather  ir- 
regular open  space,  surrounded  by  porticoes  and  temples. 
In  front  of  these  and  around  them  were  numerous  statues 

1  It  is  true  that  the  inscription  does  not  mention  the  dedication  by  Eubulides ; 
but  on  such  large  groups  it  was  common  to  have  several  inscriptions. 


5i8  ANCIENT  ATHENS 

of  gods  and  distinguished  men ;  and  a  certain  row  or 
group  of  these  were  especially  known  as  the  Herman, 
being  probably  of  the  conventional  form  of  square  pillars 
with  a  head  carved  at  the  top  —  a  shape  by  no  means 
restricted  to  this  set,  but  common  throughout  Athens; 
in  the  open  space  there  were  some  altars  and  other 
objects,  but  it  was  for  the  most  part  clear.  The  Agora 
was  in  a  slight  depression ;  above  it,  at  the  back,  rose  the 
rock  of  the  Areopagus,  and  several  of  its  buildings  at  the 
upper  end  were  situated  on  the  lower  slope  of  the  hill. 
On  the  right  arose,  behind  the  buildings  of  the  Agora, 
the  low  mound  of  the  Market  Hill  —  KoXawbs  'Ayopcuo? 
—  with  several  temples  upon  it,  among  them  that  which 
we  now  call  the  Theseum.  On  the  left  side  also  the 
ground  sloped  slightly  up  from  the  Agora,  but  any  view 
in  this  direction  was  completely  shut  off  by  the  lofty 
Stoa  of  Attalus. 

Pausanias  turned  first  to  the  right  on  entering  the 
Agora,  and  here  the  building  next  the  entrance  was  the 
Portico  of  the  King,  or  Stoa  Basileios.  This  served  as 
the  office  of  the  titular  king,  the  magistrate  who  had 
charge  of  religious  matters ;  and  here  too  the  court  of 
Areopagus  sat  in  later  times.  But  these  uses  were  pro- 
vided for  by  temporary  expedients;  the  building  itself 
which  he  saw  merely  consisted  of  a  long  colonnade,  open 
toward  the  Agora,  and  with  a  solid  wall  or  chambers  at 
the  back  ;  on  the  gable  at  each  end  was  a  group  of  terra- 
cotta figures  standing  out  against  the  sky  —  Theseus 
hurling  Sciron   into  the  sea,  and  Eos  flying  away  with 


PAUSANIAS   IN   ATHENS  519 

the  youth  Cephalus.  In  front  of  the  stoa  was  a  row  of 
statues,  among  them  that  of  Conon,  who  restored  the  naval 
power  of  Athens  after  the  close  of  the  Peloponnesian 
War,  and  his  friend  Evagoras  of  Cyprus,  one  of  the  most 
heroic  champions  of  Hellenism  in  the  East.  Here  too,  a 
little  farther  on,  was  a  statue  of  Zeus  Eleutherios,  set  up 
to  commemorate  the  great  delivery  of  the  Greeks  from 
the  Persians,  and  behind  it  another  portico,  called  after 
this  statue,  and  having  within  it  paintings  by  Euphranor. 
At  one  end  were  the  twelve  gods,  at  the  other  an  alle- 
gorical group  of  Theseus  and  Democracy  and  Demos  or 
the  Athenian  people,  the  latter  personified  by  a  single 
figure.  The  back  of  the  portico  was  filled  by  one  of  the 
most  spirited  battle  pictures  of  antiquity,  the  battle  of 
Mantinea  by  the  same  artist;  the  most  prominent  figures 
were  Epaminondas  among  the  Theban  cavalry,  and 
Gryllus  the  son  of  Xenophon  among  the  Athenian 
knights ;  possibly  the  central  group  was  a  single  combat 
between  these  two,  in  which  Gryllus  was  victorious. 

Near  by  was  the  temple  of  Apollo  Patrous,  with  a 
statue  also  by  Euphranor  inside,  and  two  other  statues 
of  Apollo  by  famous  sculptors,  Calamis  and  Leochares, 
standing  in  front  of  the  temple. 

Pausanias  now  turned  from  the  western  side  of  the 
Agora  and  approached  a  group  of  buildings  situated  at 
its  upper  or  southern  end,  just  below  the  slope  of  the 
Areopagus.  These  buildings  were  all  of  them  connected 
with  the  official  life  of  Athens.  The  first  of  them  was 
the    Metroum,  the  temple  of   the   Mother  of  the   Gods, 


520  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

with  a  statue  of  her  by  Phidias  ;  from  the  convenience 
of  its  position  this  served  as  the  public  record  office. 
Close  beside  it  stood  the  Senate  House  of  the  Five 
Hundred;  within  it  Pausanias  saw  a  wooden  statue  of 
Zeus,  God  of  Counsel,  and  an  image  of  Demos,  the 
People,  by  Lyson.  There  were  pictures,  too ;  one  by 
Protogenes  of  the  Thesmothetae,  or  six  minor  archons, — 
perhaps  a  portrait  group,  —  and  a  portrait  of  Callippus, 
who  led  the  Athenians  to  hold  Thermopylae  against  the 
invading  Gauls,  an  exploit  which  reminded  the  later 
Athenians  of  their  ancient  glory  at  Marathon.  Here, 
too,  was  the  Tholus,  with  the  Sacred  Hearth  of  the  state, 
where  the  Prytanes  sacrificed  and  where  they  had  their 
official  residence  —  a  building  which  offered  a  contrast 
to  the  flat  lines  of  porticoes  and  temples,  since  it  was 
circular  and  surmounted  by  a  domelike  top. 

Higher  up  on  the  slope  of  the  Areopagus  were  the 
statues  of  the  Eponymi,  the  heroes  after  whom  the  dif- 
ferent tribes  of  Athens  were  named,  a  place  of  great 
resort  and  excitement  in  earlier  days,  when  the  lists  of 
those  drawn  for  military  service  or  other  purposes  were 
affixed  to  the  statues.  The  heroes  of  the  ten  tribes  estab- 
lished by  Clisthenes  were  Erechtheus,  ^igeus,  Pandion, 
Leos,  Acamas,  CEneus,  Cecrops,  Hippothoon,  Ajax,  and 
Antiochus,  —  all  legendary  kings  of  Athens  or  heroes  of 
Attic  legend.  To  these  were  added  later  three  foreign 
benefactors  of  the  Athenian  state,  Attains,  Ptolemy,  and 
Hadrian.  Beyond  these  were  other  statues,  including 
that    of    Peace    carrying    the    infant    Wealth,   the    well- 


PAUSANIAS   IN    ATHENS  521 

known    work    of    Cephisodotus,    of    which    copies    still 
survive.       Here    were    also    portraits    of     famous    nun: 
Lycurgus,   who  did    SO  much  for  the  administration   of 
Athens  and  the  completion  of  its  buildings;  Callias,  who 
was  said  to  have  made  the  peace  with  Persia  in  the  fifth 
century  on  conditions  very  satisfactory  to  the  Greeks; 
and  Demosthenes.     Near  to  the  statue  of  Demosthenes, 
which  may  have  been  the  original  of  the  statues  of   the 
orator   that   have   survived,  and   close   under  the   rocky 
brow  of  the  Areopagus,  was  the  temple  of  Ares,  with 
statues  inside  it  of   the  god   himself  by  Alcamenes,  of 
Aphrodite  and  of  Athena,  and  of  Enyo  by  the  sons  of 
Praxiteles.       Outside    the    temple    were    other    statues, 
including  one  of  Pindar,  whose  praise  of  Athens  gained 
him  many  honours  from  the  Athenian  people.     Not  far 
from  this  were  the  statues  of  Harmodius  and  Aristogi- 
ton,  placed  at  the  highest  corner  of  the  Agora,  where  the 
steep  path  ascended  to  the  saddle  between   Areopagus 
and  Acropolis,  and  so  to  the  Propyloea.     Pausanias  saw- 
here  not  only  the  statues  made  by  Critius  and  Nesiotes 
after  the  Persian  invasion,  but  also  the  earlier  group  by 
Antenor,  which   Xerxes  had  carried  off  to   Persia,  and 
which  Alexander    had    sent    back    to    stand    in   its  old 
place.     These  vigorous  works  of  early  Attic   sculpture 
served  at  once  as  a  monument  of  the  adopted  heroes  of 
Athenian    democracy,    and    as    a    trophy    of    the    final 
triumph  of  Greece  over  Persia.     The  place  where  they 
stood,  which  was  sometimes  called  the  Orchestra,  was 
where  the  first  plays  of  the  Attic  drama  had  been  per- 


522  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

formed  by  Thespis,  before  the  theatre  south  of  the 
Acropolis  was  used ;  it  was  the  highest  point  of  the 
Agora,  and  when  he  has  reached  it,  Pausanias  breaks  off 
his  perambulation  to  continue  it  elsewhere. 

The  next  thing  which  he  describes  is  a  group  of 
buildings  situated  outside  the  Agora  —  how  far  off  is 
a  disputed  question.  First  of  these  is  the  Odeum  — 
not  that  built  by  Pericles  close  to  the  Theatre  of  Diony- 
sus, nor  that  of  Herodes  Atticus,  which  was  not  yet  built 
when  Pausanias  visited  Athens,  but  a  different  building, 
of  which  the  position  is  not  otherwise  recorded.  Nor 
have  we  any  evidence  to  show,  in  other  cases  where  the 
Odeum  is  mentioned  without  further  definition,  whether 
this  Odeum  or  the  Odeum  of  Pericles  is  meant ;  from 
its  name  it  must  have  been  a  theatre-like  building 
intended  for  musical  contests  and  performances.  In 
front  of  it  were  statues  of  the  Ptolemies  and  of  Pyrrhus, 
and  within  it  a  notable  statue  of  Dionysus.  Near  it 
was  the  fountain  Enneacrunus,  or  the  Nine  Spouts, 
so  called  from  its  decoration  by  Pisistratus,  the  only 
running  spring  of  water  in  the  whole  city.  Above  the 
spring  were  the  temples  of  Demeter  and  Kore  and  of 
Triptolemus,  and  in  front  of  the  temple  of  Triptolemus 
a  seated  statue  of  Epimenides  of  Crete,  who  was  said 
to  have  stayed  a  pestilence  at  Athens  by  purifying 
the  city  when  it  was  polluted  by  the  murder  of  Cylon. 
We  know  from  other  sources  that  there  were  two  well- 
known  precincts  of  Demeter  in  Athens  —  the  one  just 
below   the  Acropolis,  where  the  mystai  met  together  be- 


I'M  SAN  IAS    IN    ATHENS  523 

fore  the  procession  to  Eleusis  at  the  Greater  Mysteries, 
and  another  in  the  suburb  of  Agrae,  just  beyond  the 
Ilissus,  where  the  Lesser  Mysteries  were  celebrated. 
Pausanias  was  prevented  by  a  dream  from  going  into 
more  details  as  to  the  Athenian  Eleusinium,  else  he 
might  have  explained  the  relation  of  the  two  shrines, 
and  have  told  us,  at  least,  which  of  the  two  was  the 
one  he  had  come  to  in  his  walk  round  Athens.  If  he 
had  gone  far  away  from  the  Agora  to  the  fountain 
Enneacrunus  in  the  Ilissus,  then  the  temple  of  Demeter 
above  it  must  have  been  the  one  in  Agrae.  A  little 
farther  away  was  the  temple  of  Eucleia,  or  Fame,  dedi- 
cated in  memory  of  the  victory  over  the  Persians  at 
Marathon ;  an  appropriate  record  of  the  most  glorious 
exploit  in  Athenian  history 1  —  a  battle  so  famous  that 
^Eschylus  chose  to  record  on  his  tomb  that  he  had 
fought  in  it,  rather  than  to  make  any  reference  to  his 
plays. 

Pausanias  now  returns  to  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
Agora,  and  he  next  mentions  the  buildings  on  the  low 
hill  above  it  on  its  west  side,  behind  the  Stoa  Basileios. 
Here  he  saw  a  temple  of  Hephaestus,  with  statues  of 
Hephaestus  and  Athena;  the  goddess  was  represented 
with  sea-blue  eyes,  like  those  usually  given  to  Posidon. 
Near  this  temple  was  another,  dedicated  to  the  Heavenly 
Aphrodite,  with  a  statue  by  Phidias.'2     He  must  also  have 

1  This  is  evidently  how  Fausanias  takes  it,  from  his  tale  of  .Eschylus.  He  evi- 
dently knows  nothing  of  an  Artemis  Eucleia,  or  association  with  the  Agora. 

2  See  p.  395. 


5  24  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

seen,  on  this  hill,  the  temple  we  now  know  as  the  The- 
seum ;  but  unless  it  be  identified  with  one  of  the  two 
just  mentioned,  we  must  suppose  it  was  among  those 
that  he  either  failed  to  note,  or  excised  in  his  revision, 
perhaps  because  it  contained  nothing  that  especially  in- 
terested him.  He  then  descended  again  into  the  Agora, 
and  went  across  it,  either  to  its  west  or  north  side, 
passing  on  his  way  the  triumphal  arch  set  up  by  the 
Athenians  for  their  victory  over  Cassander,1  and  the 
bronze  statue  of  Hermes  Agoraios.  Thus  he  came  to 
the  famous  Stoa  Pcecile  (or  Painted  Stoa),  with  its 
pictures  by  Polygnotus  and  others  of  mythical  and 
real  battles,  above  all  that  of  Marathon,  —  a  building 
full  of  the  most  splendid  associations  of  patriotism  and 
military  prowess,  and  also  among  the  most  frequented  in 
the  A^ora.  Here  too  were  s'bme  shields  dedicated  ;  and 
some  of  them,  protected  by  a  coat  of  pitch  from  the  rav- 
ages of  time,  were  said  to  be  those  of  the  Spartans  cap- 
tured at  Sphacteria.  Pausanias  does  not,  however,  mention 
another  memory,  perhaps  the  most  familiar  of  all  attached 
to  the  Stoa — that  of  Zeno,  and  the  Stoic  School  founded 
by  his  teaching  in  this  portico.  In  front  of  the  Stoa 
were  statues,  including  that  of  Solon,  and  farther  on,  one 
of  Seleucus.  In  the  Agora  stood  an  altar  of  Pity  or  of 
Mercy  (vEXeo?),  a  curious  instance  both  of  sentiment  and 
of  impersonation,  which  impressed  the  later  Greeks  as  it 
has  some  modern  writers. 

Pausanias    now    left    the    Agora,    omitting,   curiously 

1  Sec  p.  481. 


PAUSANIAS   IN   ATHENS  525 

enough,  to  mention  the  fine  Stoa  of  Attalus,  and  went 
on  to  see  some  of  the  buildings  situated  in  the  space  to 
the  east  of  it,  and  to  the  north  of  the  Acropolis.  On 
the  level  ground  was  the  fine  Gymnasium  built  by 
Ptolemy,  with  statues  in  it,  one  of  Ptolemy  himself, 
and  one  of  the  philosopher  Chrysippus.  Close  to  this 
Gymnasium  was  the  Theseum  —  not  the  temple  we  now 
call  by  that  name,  but  a  shrine  built  by  Cimon  to  con- 
tain the  bones  of  Theseus  when  he  brought  them  from 
Scyros ;  it  was  decorated  by  Micon  with  paintings  relat- 
ing to  the  exploits  of  the  hero.  Pausanias  then  turned 
toward  the  slope  of  the  Acropolis,  and  visited  the  temple 
of  the  Dioscuri,  also  decorated  with  paintings  by  Micon. 
The  precinct  of  this  temple  was  a  convenient  place  for 
large  meetings ;  for  it  was  here  that  Pisistratus  had 
called  the  citizens  together,  on  the  occasion  when  he 
tricked  them  out  of  their  arms  by  gathering  them  into 
the  gateway  to  hear  him,  while  his  attendants,  left  behind 
for  the  purpose,  gathered  up  their  arms  and  carried 
them  up  to  the  neighbouring  precinct  of  Aglauros. 
The  precinct  of  Aglauros,  best  known  as  the  place 
where  the  youths  of  Athens  took  their  oaths  on  being 
admitted  to  the  ranks  of  the  ephebi,  or  cadets,  was  also 
associated  with  the  death  of  the  daughters  of  Cecrops, 
Aglauros  and  Herse,  who  hurled  themselves  from  the 
rocks  of  the  Acropolis,  when  their  sister  Pandrosos, 
whose  precinct  lay  just  above  on  the  Acropolis,  re- 
mained faithful  to  her  trust ;  but  they  opened  the  box 
intrusted  to  them  by  Athena,  with  the  snake-child  Erich- 


526  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

thonius  in  it,  and  their  presumption  was  visited  with 
madness.  This  precinct  of  Aglauros  must  therefore 
have  lain  just  under  the  Acropolis  rock,  below  the  west- 
ern end  of  the  Erechtheum ;  and  beside  it  was  the  cleft 
by  which  the  Persians  climbed  up  when  they  captured 
the  Acropolis  and  slew  its  defenders.  A  little  farther 
to  the  east,  but  still  close  to  the  Acropolis,  was  the 
Prytaneum,  with  the  ancient  wooden  copies  of  the  laws 
of  Solon,  and  statues  of  Peace  and  of  Hestia,  the 
goddess  of  the  common  Hearth,  in  whose  honour  the 
banquets  of  the  Prytaneum  were  held ;  there,  too,  were 
statues  of  Miltiades  and  Themistocles,  both  of  them, 
according  to  the  practice  denounced  by  Cicero,  bearing 
other  names  inscribed  in   Roman  times. 

From  the  Prytaneum,  which  must  have  been  just 
below  the  Acropolis,  about  the  middle  of  its  north  side, 
two  ways  diverged.  The  one  of  these  kept  close  under 
the  slope  of  the  hill,  and  led  round  to  the  Theatre  of 
Dionysus;  the  other  took  a  wide  sweep  through  the 
level  ground,  first  to  the  north  and  then  to  the  east,  and 
so  led  to  the  Olympieum.  Pausanias  followed  first  this 
latter  road;  it  led  him,  on  the  way  down,  past  the  temple 
of  Sarapis,  and,  not  far  from  it,  the  place  where  Theseus 
and  Pirithous  made  their  covenant  with  one  another; 
the  pledges  they  gave  each  other  on  this  occasion  seem 
to  have  been  still  preserved  and  shown  on  this  spot;  near 
was  a  temple  of  Ilithyia,  with  some  ancient  images  of  the 
goddess,  enveloped  in  drapery  down  to  the  feet.  It  must 
have  been  a  long  distance  —  nearly  half  a  mile  —  from 


PAUSANIAS   IN   ATHENS  527 

here  to  the  Olympieum;  but  Pausanias  mentions  noth- 
ing on  the  way.  The  colossal  temple  of  the  Olympian 
Zens  had  recently  been  completed  by  Hadrian  at  the 
time  of  Pausanias'  visit ;  he  was  impressed  by  the  great 
size  of  the  statue;  it  seems  to  have  exceeded  its  original 
at  Olympia  in  this  respect,  and  to  have  been  only  sur- 
passed by  the  colossi  at  Rhodes  and  in  Rome.  There 
were,  outside  the  temple,  and  in  front  of  its  columns, 
bronze  statues  emblematic  of  the  various  colonies  of 
Athens,  and  an  immense  number  of  statues  of  Hadrian, 
some  set  up  by  the  Athenians,  others  by  different  Greek 
cities.  There  were  however  within  the  precinct  other 
objects  of  greater  interest  and  of  ancient  sanctity. 
Among  these  were  an  ancient  bronze  statue  of  Zeus,  a 
temple  of  Cronos  and  Rhea,  and  a  precinct  of  Olympian 
Ge  (Earth).  Here  was  shown  a  chasm  in  the  earth  about 
a  cubit  wide,  down  which  the  waters  of  Deucalion's  flood 
are  said  to  have  subsided.  Here  every  year  they  threw 
in  cakes  of  wheaten  meal  and  honey.  In  this  region, 
too,  was  the  tomb  of  Deucalion.  There  was  also  a 
statue  of  Isocrates,  set  up  on  a  column.  Passing  on 
beyo::d  the  temple  of  the  Olympian  Zeus,  Pausanias  saw 
the  statue  of  Apollo  Pythius,  which  must  have  been  in 
the  Pythium,  a  shrine  in  which  several  inscriptions, 
including  one  altar  dedicated  by  the  younger  Pisistratus 
and  mentioned  by  Thucydides,  have  actually  been  found 
close  to  the  Ilissus,  below  the  spring  Callirrhoe  (or  Ennea- 
crunus).  In  this  connection  Pausanias  mentions  also  a 
temple  of  Apollo    Delphinius,  which   may  or  may  not 


528  ANCIENT  ATHENS 

have  been  close  by.  Here,  too,  perhaps  a  little  higher 
up  the  river,  where  there  are  gardens  to  the  present  day, 
was  the  district  called  the  Gardens,  and  the  temple  of 
Aphrodite  famous  for  its  statue  by  Alcamenes.  The 
next  building  mentioned  by  Pausanias  is  the  sanctuary 
of  Heracles,  called  Cynosarges,  with  altars  of  Heracles 
and  Hebe,  his  bride,  as  well  as  of  his  mother, 
Alcmena,  and  his  companion,  Iolaus ;  the  Cynosarges 
is  chiefly  known  for  its  gymnasium,  and  also  from 
the  fact  that  the  Athenians  halted  there  on  their 
return  from  Marathon  to  protect  Athens  against 
the  attack  of  the  Persians  who  had  gone  round  by  sea. 
It  was  probably  situated  on  the  slope  of  Lycabettus,  not 
far  from  the  place  where  the  British  and  American 
schools  are  now  built.  The  position  has  a  commanding 
view  over  the  sea,  and  therefore  would  form  a  suitable 
camp  for  an  army  prepared  to  resist  a  landing.  This 
seems  to  have  been  the  extreme  point  reached  by  Pau- 
sanias to  the  north-east.  He  next  saw  the  Lyceum, 
sacred  to  Apollo,  and  famous  for  its  gymnasium  and 
garden,  which  were  frequented  by  Aristotle  and  his  peri- 
patetic disciples.  Behind  this  was  the  tomb  of  Nisus 
of  Megara,  whose  daughter  betrayed  him  out  of. love  to 
Minos.  Pausanias  then  went  clown  to  the  valley  of  the 
Ilissus,  which  he  had  already  approached  before  at  the 
Py.thium,  and  perhaps  also  at  Enneacrunus  ;  and  he  saw 
the  place  where  Boreas  was  said  to  have  seized  Orithyia, 
and  the  altar  of  the  Ilissian  Muses,  the  very  places  de- 
scribed  by   Plato   as  a  setting   to    the    dialogue   of   the 


PAUSANIAS    IN    ATHENS  529 

Phcpdrns.  Here,  too,  was  the  place  where  Codrus  fell 
when  he  sacrificed  himself  for  Athens  and  went  out  in 
disguise  to  be  slain  by  the  Spartan  invaders;  his  shrine, 
associated  with  those  of  Neleus  and  Basile,  was  a  little 
farther  along,  below  the  Theatre  of  Dionysus.  Beyond 
the  Ilissus  was  the  suburb  of  Agra,1,  which  we  have 
already  noticed  as  connected  with  the  celebration  of 
the  lesser  Mysteries.  In  Agras  also  was  the  temple  of 
Artemis  Agrotera,  of  which  the  position  is  now  uncer- 
tain, and  also  another  structure  that  still  remains,  the 
Panathenaic  Stadium,  fresh  in  the  time  of  Pausanias 
from  its  lavish  decoration  with  Pentelic  marble  by 
Herodes  Atticus. 

Pausanias  now  retraces  his  steps  to  the  Prytaneum, 
and  takes  the  other  road,  close  beneath  the  slope  of 
the  Acropolis,  called  that  of  the  Tripods.  Here  he  saw 
many  little  shrines,  of  which  one  only,  the  monument  of 
Lysicrates,  has  survived  until  the  present  day ;  these 
shrines  were  especially  built  to  support  the  votive  tripods 
that  had  been  given  for  prizes  in  the  choric  and  dra- 
matic contests.  These  little  monuments  were  especially 
famous  for  the  works  of  art  they  contained,  among  them 
being  the  famous  Satyr  of  Praxiteles.  Pausanias  then 
visited  the  precinct  of  Dionysus  below  the  Theatre, 
with  its  two  temples,  its  gold  and  ivory  statue  by 
Alcamenes,  and  its  paintings;  then  he  went  back  in  the 
direction  he  had  come  from,  to  notice  the  Odeum  of 
Pericles,  which,  though  burnt  in  the  time  of  Sulla,  had 
been   restored  in   its  original  form,  said  to   have   been 

2M 


530  ANCIENT    ATHENS 

imitated  from  the  tent  of  Xerxes.  In  the  Theatre,  he 
saw  the  statues  of  tragic  and  comic  poets;  and,  on  the 
south  wall  of  the  Acropolis  above  it,  a  gilt  head  of  Medusa 
set  on  an  aegis.  At  the  top  of  the  Theatre  he  saw  the 
cave,  and  the  tripod  dedicated  by  Thrasyllus  above  it, 
with  a  representation  of  Apollo  and  Artemis  slaying  the 
children  of  Niobe.  Then  passing  on  toward  the 
entrance  of  the  Acropolis,  he  saw  the  grave  of  Calos, 
who  was  said  to  have  been  the  nephew  and  apprentice 
of  Daedalus ;  his  uncle  hurled  him  down  from  the 
rocks  of  the  Acropolis  in  jealousy  of  his  superior  inven- 
tions. Next  to  this  was  the  Asclepieum,  with  its  numer- 
ous votive  offerings  and  images  of  the  god  and  his 
children,  and  the  old  sacred  spring,  beside  which  Halir- 
rhothius,  son  of  Posidon,  was  said  to  have  offered  violence 
to  Alcippe,  the  daughter  of  Ares ;  and  Ares,  who  conse- 
quently slew  him,  underwent' the  first  trial  for  homicide 
at  the  Areopagus.  Beyond  the  Asclepieum  was  the 
temple  of  Themis,  and  in  front  of  it  a  mound,  the  tomb 
of  Hippolytus.  Here  also  was  the  temple  of  Aphrodite 
Pandemos,  and  also  of  Earth,  the  nurse  of  children 
(KovpoTp6cf)o<;),  and  of  Demeter  Chloe.  Both  of  these  last 
shrines  were  on  the  immediate  ascent  to  the  Acropolis. 
Pausanias  does  not  mention  the  Odeum  of  Herodes  in  his 
description  of  Athens,  because,  as  lie  explains  later  on  in 
his  history,  it  was  not  built  until  after  his  visit. 

Pausanias  next  enters  the  Acropolis,  but  we  need  not 
follow  his  description  of  it,  because  we  have  already  tried 
to  realise  the  appearance  of  the  Acropolis,  with  its  various 


PAUSANIAS    IN    ATHENS 


531 


temples,  and  votive  offerings,  at  the  close  of  the  fifth 
century;  and,  but  for  the  addition  of  a  few  monuments 
that  have  been  sufficiently  noticed  elsewhere,  there  was 
not  much  change  in  the  Acropolis  between  that  date  and 
the  visit  of  Pausanias.  We  may  therefore  infer  that 
he  saw  on  the  Acropolis  what  has  already  been  de- 
scribed in  Chapter  VI.,  and  accompany  him  again  as  he 
descends  from  the  Propylaea.  Here  he  noticed,  on  his 
way  down,  the  spring  Clepsydra,  and  the  caves  of  Apollo 
and  Pan.  Then  he  saw  the  Areopagus,  with  its  altar  of 
Athena  Areia  dedicated  by  Orestes  when  he  was  acquitted 
by  the  court;  the  temple  of  Ares  he  had  already  noticed 
on  the  opposite  slope  of  the  hill  near  the  Agora.  On 
the  top  of  the  hill,  probably  where  the  court  used  to  sit 
in  old  times,  were  the  stones  of  Hybris  (Violence)  and 
Anaideia  (Ruthlessness),  assigned  respectively  to  the  ac- 
cused and  the  accuser.  Near  below,  round  the  chasm 
that  may  still  be  seen,  was  the  precinct  of  the  Holy  Ones, 
the  Erinnyes,  who  had  to  be  propitiated  by  all  who  were 
acquitted  by  the  court.  In  this  were  statues  of  the  god- 
desses themselves,  but  in  no  terrible  form,  and  also  of 
Hermes  and  Earth  and  Pluto ;  here,  too,  was  the  tomb  of 
CEdipus,  associated  with  the  famous  play  of  Sophocles. 
Pausanias,  however,  was  not  satisfied  until  he  had  recon- 
ciled this  account  with  that  of  Homer,  by  finding  a  tradi- 
tion that  the  bones  of  CEdipus  had  been  brought  from 
Thebes.  Near  to  the  Areopagus,  too,  was  the  sacred 
ship  which  carried  the  peplos  of  Athena  in  the  Panathe- 
naic  procession  —  probably  the  elaborate  machine  made 


532  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

by  Herodes  Atticus  for  his  gorgeous  celebration  of  the 
festival,  when  it  seemed  to  move  along  of  its  own  accord 
by  means  of  mechanism  concealed  within  itself.  This 
ship  of  Herodes  is  indeed  said  by  Philostratus  to  have 
been  preserved  near  the  Pythium  ;  but,  being  movable,  it 
need  not  always  have  been  kept  in  the  same  place.  .  A 
ship,  though  not  such  an  elaborate  one,  had  been  used  in 
the  Panathenaic  procession  regularly  in  earlier  times. 

From  the  Areopagus,  Pausanias  returns  to  the 
Dipylon  Gate,  and  notices  the  tombs  on  the  way  to 
the  Academy,  especially  those  of  the  Athenians  who 
fell  in  battle  and  were  here  buried,  as  Thucydides 
says,  in  the  most  beautiful  suburb  of  the  town.  Here, 
too,  was  a  small  temple  of  Dionysus,  to  which  the 
statue  of  the  god  was  carried  in  an  annual  proces- 
sion. In  the  Academy  was  an  altar  of  Prometheus, 
which  was  the  starting-point  of  a  torch  race  to  the 
city ;  not  far  off  was  the  tomb  of  Plato,  and  the  gym- 
nasium and  garden  which  still  preserved  his  memory. 
Near  by  was  the  tower  of  Timon  the  misanthrope, 
who  seems  to  have  chosen  a  much  frequented  region 
for  his  seclusion.  Farther  to  the  east  was  Colonus 
Hippius,  the  scene  of  the  Otdip?is  at  Colonus,  with  its 
altar  of  Athena  and  Posidon,  and  a  shrine  of  The- 
seus and  Pirithous,  and  one  of  CEdipus  and  Adrastus. 
Pausanias  mentions  that  the  grove  of  Posidon  and  his 
temple  had  been  burnt  by  Antigonus  in  his  invasion, 
and  perhaps  it  never  recovered  from  this  disaster. 
Certainly  the    modern    traveller   will    look   as   vainly  as 


PAUSANIAS   IN   ATHENS  533 

Pausanias    for   the   groves   and    the    nightingales    cele- 
brated by  Sophocles. 

Here  we  must  take  leave  of  our  guide;  if  we  have, 
now  and  then,  had  some  doubts  as  to  the  exact  route  by 
which  he  led  us,  and  regret  that  he  has  not  given  us 
more  exact  topographical  indications,  we  must,  on  the 
whole,  be  grateful  to  him  for  a  careful  and  honest  account 
of  what  he  saw.  He  wrote,  in  the  first  place,  for  his 
contemporaries,  not  for  posterity;  and  even  if  he  had 
realised  the  value  which  his  book  would  have  for  us  at 
the  present  day,  he  could  not  have  foretold  what  monu- 
ments or  buildings  would  survive  and  be  easily  identi- 
fied, what  would  either  be  totally  destroyed  or  if  they 
remained  would  be  a  bone  of  contention  among  archae- 
ologists. It  is  an  unkind  fate  that  has  preserved  the 
Theseum  with  no  clear  evidence  for  its  identification, 
and  the  Tower  of  the  Winds,  which  Pausanias  does  not 
mention,  while  it  has  destroyed  or  hidden  beneath  deep 
accumulations  of  soil  most  of  the  temples  and  porticoes 
which  he  describes.  For  this  result  his  methods  are 
not  to  blame ;  we  must  rather  acknowledge  that  we  are 
indebted  to  his  book  for  a  clearer  and  completer  pic- 
ture of  Athens  than  we  could  have  hoped  to  realise 
without  his  help,  or  than  we  might  have  inferred  from 
the  descriptions  of  a  more  brilliant  but  less  conscientious 
author. 


534  ANCIENT    ATHENS 

NOTE    XIII  a 
On  the  Route  of  Pausanias 

The  question  of  the  route  followed  by  Pausanias  in  his  walk  through 
Athens  is  a  very  complicated  one;  a  brief  summary  of  this  route1  will 
show  the  chief  points  of  doubt  or  difficulty.  He  starts  from  the 
Dipylon  Gate,  and,  after  proceeding  to  the  Agora,  describes  the  build- 
ings that  lie  on  his  right,  beginning  with  the  Stoa  Basileios  ;  the  posi- 
tion of  each  building  relative  to  the  one  preceding  it  is  stated  in  every 
case  till  he  comes  to  the  Tyrannicides,  whom  we  know  from  independent 
information  to  have  stood  in  a  place  called  the  Orchestra,  by  the  ascent 
to  the  Acropolis,  but  still  in  the  Agora.  Next  he  mentions  a  group  of 
buildings  all  close  together,  and  just  above  the  fountain  Enneacruntis ; 
this  group  of  buildings  offers  the  chief  difficulty,  but  the  difficulty 
cannot  be  discussed  until  we  have  the  rest  of  Pausanias'  route  clearly 
in  our  minds.  He  then  speaks  of  the  temple  of  Hephaestus  and  other 
buildings  above  the  Ceramicus  or  Agora  and  the  Stoa  Basileios  ;  he 
mentions  a  statue  and  a  gate  on  the  way  to  the  Painted  Stoa,  and  after 
describing  this  Stoa  in  detail,  quotes  the  altar  of  Pity  in  the  Agora. 
Then  come  two  buildings  near  together,  not  far  off  the  Agora,  the 
Theseum  and  the  Gymnasium  of  Ptolemy  ;  there  is  no  indication  of  the 
local  relation  of  these  two  to  the  next  group,  again  close  together,  and 
including  the  Precinct  of  Agraulos  (of  which  the  site  is  known)  and 
the  Prytaneum.  From  the  Prytaneum  he  follows  first  a  road  which 
takes  him  in  a  wide  sweep  to  the  east  through  the  lower  town  to  the 
Olympieum  and  the  Ilissus  ;  he  returns  to  the  Prytaneum  and  follows 
the  Street  of  Tripods  close  under  the  east  of  the  Acropolis  to  the 
Theatre,  along  the  south  side  of  the  Acropolis  and  so  up  to  the  Propylrea. 
He  then  describes  the  Acropolis  :  on  his  way  down  he  notices  the  Clep- 
sydra and  the  caves  of  Apollo  and  Pan,  and  then  the  Areopagus  and 
objects  round  it.  After  this  he  leaves  the  city  and  proceeds  to  the 
suburbs,   beginning   with    the  Academy. 

With  the  exception  of  the  difficulty  we  have  reserved,  there  are  in 
the  whole  of  this  description  only  two  deviations  from  a  consistent 
topographical    order;    after   the    Olympieum    Pausanias    quotes   other 

1  See  N<»te  XIII  b. 


PAUSANIAS    IN    ATI  LIONS  535 

buildings  erected  by  Hadrian  at  Athens;  and  after  the  Areopagus  he 
mentions  other  law-courts  ;  but  in  both  <  ases  the  connection  of  subject 
is  obvious,  and  there  is  little  danger  of  any  consequent  misunderstand- 
ing. But  in  the  case  of  the  Enneacrunus  and  the  buildings  that 
adjoin  it,  if  there  be  a  similar  deviation  from  topographical  order,  there 
certainly  is  a  danger  of  misunderstanding;  for  these  buildings  offer  no 
very  close  connection  of  subject  with  one  another  or  with  the  fountain, 
nor  is  there  any  obvious  reason  for  their  insertion  at  this  point,  unless 
they  come  into  the  actual  topographical  sequence.  In  order  to  under- 
stand the  problem,  it  is  necessary  to  realise  clearly  where  they  are 
inserted.  Pausanias  has  just  finished  describing  the  buildings  on  the 
right  hand  or  western  side  of  the  Agora,  ending  with  die  Tyrannicides, 
which  stood  by  the  ascent  to  the  Acropolis  ;  he  then  mentions  the 
Odeum  and  other  buildings  near  the  Enneacrunus  ;  and  after  that  he 
returns  immediately  to  mention  two  buildings  that  lie  above  those  he 
has  mentioned  on  the  right  hand  of  the  Agora,  before  crossing  the 
Agora  and  speaking  of  those  that  lay  on  its  other  side.  Now  it  is 
generally  admitted  that  the  north  end  of  the  Agora,  which  Pausanias 
first  reached,  lay  just  to  the  east  of  the  low  hill  on  which  the  Theseum 
now  stands  ;  the  Tyrannicides,  who  mark  the  other  end  of  the  Agora, 
have  been  variously  placed  either  at  the  eastern  or  the  western  end 
of  the  Areopagus,  and  the  position  and  extent  of  the  Agora  depends 
on  the  position  assigned  to  its  two  ends.  I  think  the  mention  of  the 
ascent  to  the  Acropolis  (y  avcjxev  is  7roA.1v)  can  only  apply  to 'the  ascent 
between  Areopagus  and  Acropolis,  for  the  road  which  skirts  the  foot 
of  the  Pnyx  Hill  does  not  really  begin  to  ascend  the  Acropolis  until 
the  zigzag  way  branches  off  near  the  Odeum  of  Herodes.  However, 
we  must  admit  both  alternatives  to  consideration.  Whichever  we 
accept,  the  fact  remains  that  Pausanias  interpolates  among  the  descrip- 
tions of  other  buildings  that  lie  close  together  around  the  Agora,  the 
mention  of  the  Odeum,  Enneacrunus,  and  the  temple  of  Demeter  and 
the  Eleusinium.  Three  explanations  of  this  fact  have  been  suggested  — 
(1)  that  of  Leake,  Curtius,  and  others,  who,  holding  that  Ennea- 
crunus was  certainly  in  the  bed  of  the  Ilissus,  believe  that  it  and  the 
other  buildings  mentioned  with  it  are  inserted  here  for  some  reason 
out  of  topographical  order. 


536  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

(2)  that  of  Wachsmuth,  Frazer,  and  others,  who  agree  with  Leake 
as  to  the  position  of  Enneacrunus,  but  cannot  accept  so  great  a  devia- 
tion from  topographical  order  in  Pausanias'  description ;  they  there- 
fore think  Pausanias  must  have  seen  or  been  shown  some  other  spring 
close  to  the  end  of  the  Agora,  which  he  mistook  for  Enneacrunus. 

(3)  that  of  Dorpfeld,  who  insists  on  the  topographical  order,  and 
accepts  this  passage  as  evidence  that  Enneacrunus  really  was  near  the 
end  of  the  Agora ;  consequently  he  made  excavations  to  look  for  it, 
and  found  what  he  believes  to  be  Enneacrunus  just  under  the  Pnyx 
Hill. 

Each  of  these  explanations  requires  careful  criticism.  (1)  The  evi- 
dence of  other  writers  is,  as  we  have  seen,  extremely  strong  in  favour 
of  the  position  of  Enneacrunus  near  the  Ilissus.  In  order  to  explain 
the  deviation  from  topographical  sequence,  Curtius  suggests  that  Pau- 
sanias actually  went  with  his  first  guide  as  far  as  the  Tyrannicides  ; 
that  he  took  next  a  guide  initiated  into  the  Mysteries,  to  show  him 
round  the  Eleusinium,  the  temple  of  Demeter,  and  the  adjoining 
buildings,  before  completing  the  circuit  of  the  Agora ;  and  that  this 
more  or  less  fortuitous  sequence  has  penetrated  from  his  diary  into  his 
book.  Leake  suggests  that  the  long  gap  between  the  Tyrannicides  and 
the  buildings  round  Enneacrunus  was  perhaps  partly  filled  in  Pausanias' 
notes  by  other  things  which  he  discarded  in  the  selection  of  which  he 
speaks.  The  case  is  not  much  more  extreme  than  when  he  passes 
from  the  Prytaneum,  below  the  north  of  the  Acropolis,  to  the 
Olympieum  on  the  Ilissus,  mentioning  only  two  or  three  things  on  the 
way;  and  then  returns  to  the  Prytaneum,  to  take  a  fresh  start  along  the 
Street  of  the  Tripods.  But  there  is  this  difference,  that  the  excursion 
to  the  Olympieum  takes  Pausanias  to  places  which  he  would  otherwise 
have  missed,  while  that  to  the  Enneacrunus  takes  him  to  the  region  by 
the  Ilissus,  which  he  visits  again  later  on.  An  extreme  version  of  the 
first  theory  is  the  practical,  if  cynical,  suggestion  of  a  modern  writer  of 
guide-books,  who  sees  "considerable  difficulty  in  questioning  the  liberty 
of  a  traveller,  who  lived  seventeen  centuries  ago,  to  return  home  peri- 
odically  for  the  purpose  of  dining  or  sleeping,  and  begin  his  work  at  a 
fresh  point  after  an  interval  of  repose."  ' 

1  Murray,  Greece,  p.  288. 


PAUSANIAS   IN   ATHENS  537 

(2)  The  second  explanation  has  the  great  advantage  of  preserving 
the  topographical  sequence  of  Pausanias  without  rejecting  the  clear  evi- 
dence of  other  writers  ;  but  the  supposition  that  Pausanias  mistook  some 
other  fountain  in  or  near  the  Agora  for  Enneacrunus  is  extremely  im- 
probable, especially  when  we  consider  the  words  in  which  he  describes 
the  fountain  as  the  only  one  in  Athens,  and  his  evident  reminiscence  of 
Thucydides.  To  accept  this  explanation  is  a  counsel  of  despair;  yet 
Mr.  Frazer,  after  a  most  careful  and  judicial  weighing  of  all  the  evi- 
dence, finds  himself  forced  to  it.  But  even  so,  all  difficulties  are  not 
removed.  If  the  fountain  be  the  one  of  which  some  trace  existed  in 
the  eighteenth  century  close  to  the  cave  of  the  Semnse,  there  is  very 
little  room  in  this  region  for  the  Odeum,  and  the  temple  of  Demeter, 
and  the  other  buildings  mentioned  ;  if  it  be  the  one  found  by  Professor 
Dorpfeld  by  the  Pnyx  Hill,  there  are  still  the  topographical  difficulties 
mentioned  under  (3). 

(3)  So  far  as  Pausanias  himself  is  concerned,  Professor  Dorpfeld's 
explanation  is  certainly  the  simplest  and  easiest,  though  not  free  from 
all  difficulties.  For,  if  we  place  the  statues  of  the  Tyrannicides,  as  he 
does,  near  the  western  end  of  the  Areopagus,  there  is  still  a  distance 
of  about  two  hundred  yards  from  thence  to  the  Enneacrunus,  while  from 
the  eastern  end  of  the  Areopagus  the  distance  is  about  a  quarter  of  a 
mile.  This  distance  is,  indeed,  much  less  than  the  distance  to  the 
Enneacrunus  in  the  Ilissus,  which  is  more  than  half  a  mile  away ;  but 
still  it  breaks  the  direct  sequence  of  the  buildings  surrounding  the 
Agora,  and  takes  us  into  a  new  region,  which  Pausanias  approaches 
later  when  speaking  of  the  Areopagus.  If  it  be  claimed  for  Professor 
Dorpfeld's  theory  that  it  has  stood  the  scientific  test  of  experiment, 
since  he  stated  beforehand  that  he  expected  to  find  the  Enneacrunus, 
and  now  has  actually  found  a  fountain  corresponding  to  his  prediction, 
this  claim  must  be  allowed,  —  but  with  the  reservation  that  the  foun- 
tain has  been  found  some  distance  from  where  he  first  sought  it,  and 
that  this  interval  is  all  in  the  direction  away  from  the  Agora,  while  no 
trace  has  been  found  of  the  other  buildings  mentioned  by  Pausanias  as 
lying  near  the  Enneacrunus.  However,  if  we  had  no  evidence  but 
that  of  Pausanias  as  to  the  position  of  Enneacrunus,  there  is  little 
doubt  that  all  topographers  would  agree  in  accepting  Professor  Dorp- 


538  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

feld's  view  as  the  most  probable.  The  great  objection  to  that  view 
lies  in  the  difficulty  of  reconciling  it  with  the  evidence  of  other  writers 
as  to  the  position  of  Enneacrunus  by  the  Ilissus ;  and  although  Pro- 
fessor Dorpfeld  explains  all  this  other  evidence  away,  the  majority  of 
scholars  agree  that  it  cannot  be  so  disposed  of,  and  that  it  carries  too 
great  weight  to  be  ignored. 

From  this  brief  discussion  it  appears  that  there  are  serious  difficulties 
in  the  way  of  each  of  the  three  explanations  that  have  been  suggested, 
and  that  we  are  practically  reduced  to  weighing  the  objections  in  each 
case,  and  choosing  what  seems  the  least  improbable  on  the  evidence 
that  lies  before  us.  Each  of  the  three  theories  has  found  advocates 
whose  opinions  are  entitled  to  the  highest  respect,  and  it  is  certainly 
open  to  any  one  to  hold  any  of  the  three  without  the  possibility  of  a  dog- 
matic assertion  that  he  is  wrong.  In  the  present  chapter  it  has  been 
necessary  to  adopt  one  view  to  the  exclusion  of  the  other  two ;  but,  in 
accepting  the  first  as  being,  in  my  opinion,  the  most  in  accordance  with 
all  the  available  evidence,  it  is  without  any  dogmatic  assertion  of  its  cer- 
tainty ;  a  very  little  new  evidence  might  turn  the  scale  toward  either 
of  the  other  two  hypotheses,  and  such  evidence  may  come  to  light  any 
day. 

NOTE   XIII  b. 

Topographical  Summary  of  the  Route  of  Pausanias 

References     to  Numbers  as 

Chapters  and  given     on 

Sections      in  plan        of 

Pausanias.  Athens. 

I.  2.  4.    'Ea-eA&Ww  es  rrjv  ttoXlv,  building  for  processions 
■nX-qa-tov,  temple  of  Demeter 
from  gate  to  Ceramicus,  stooe    . 
5.   one  of  stose  has  iipb.  Oewv  . 

it  has  also  Gymnasium  of  Hermes 

there  is  in  it  House  of  Pulytion,  now  sacred  to  Dionysus 
ivravda,  dedication  of  Eubulides 
/At™  Se  to  Aiovvo-ov  re/xevos,  house  with  clay  images 
3.  1.    Ceramicus. 

TT/jdnr]  iv  8e£i'a,  Stoa  Basileios     .... 
ir\r)<TLov,  statues  of  Conon  and  Evagoras     . 
ivravOa,  Zeus  Eleutherios  ..... 


9 
10 

1  1 


*9 

20 

21 

22 

23 
24 


PAUSANIAS   IN    ATHENS  539 

2.  stoa  oinaOev,  with  paintings,  by  Euphranor  .         .         .12 

3.  statue  by  Euphranor  TrXrjaiov  iv  ri2  va<§,  Apollo  Patrous       .      13 
7T/30  tov  v€w,  statues  by  Leochares  and  Calamis   .         .         -14 

4.  MrjTpos  6twv  upov       .  .  .  .  .  .  .  15 

irk-qa-Lov,  Buleuterium  of  500      ......     16 

(Digression  on  Gauls.) 

5.   I.     TrXrjaiov  tov  f3ovXt\'T7]pLOV,  Tholus  .  .  .  .  I  7 

aviDTtpoi,  statues  of  Eponymi      .         .         .         .         .         .18 

(Digression  on  Attalus  and  Ptolemy.) 
8.  3.    p.€Ta  ras  eiKoras  tojv  eVaW/xan/,  statues,  including    P^irene 
and  Plutus,  Lycurgus,  Callias,  Demosthenes  . 

5.  tt)?  tov  <\rjp.oo-0£vovs  eiKovos  ttXtjctiov,  temple  of  Ares 
irepl  tov  vaov,  statues,  including  Pindar 
ov  iroppoi  8e  Harmodius  and  Aristogiton 
theatre  called  Odeum        ..... 

6.  -rrpo  tt)<;  iaoSov,  statues  of  Egyptian  kings    . 
(Digression  on  Ptolemies.) 

II.  I.     KdrjvaCoi^  Se  et/cwv  ian  ku.1  Hvppov       .  .  .  .  25 

(Digression  on  Pyrrhus.) 

14.  1.    inside  Odeum,  Dionysus. 

■jrXrjaiov  8c  e'o-n.  Kprjvr),  Enneacrunus    .... 
i.    v-rrtp  ttjv  Kprjvrjv,  temples  of  Demeter  and  Triptolemus 

3.  irpo    tov    vaov    TOvSt    iv6d    kolI    tov    TpLTTToXipov    to    ayaXpui 

bronze  bull  and  Epimenides  ..... 

4.  tVi  diro)T€pM,  temple  of  Eucleia  ..... 

5.  virkp    tov   K€pap.€LKov    kul    o~Toav   .    .    .    /SaaiXtiov,    temple    of 

Hephaestus   . 

6.  irXrjcrtov,  temple  of  Aphrodite  Urania 

15.  I.     Ioucrt    irpos    ttjv    aTodv    rjv    HoiklXyjv    ovopd^ovaiv,    Hermes 

Agoraios        .... 

Kai  7ri'Ar/  7rXrjcrtov 

2.    paintings  in  Stoa  Poecile  . 

16.  1.    statues  irpo  pXv  t?}s  o-roa?,  Solon 

oXiyov  h\  aTTWTepu),  Seleucus 

17.  1.    iv  TTj  ayopd,  among  other  things,  altar  of  Pity     . 
2.    in  Gymnasium  of  Ptolemy,  rr}?  ayopas  d.irix0VTL  ov  ttoXv,  statue 

7rpos  tw  yvp,vuo-Lu>,  hieron  of  Theseus  (0-7/Kos) 

18.  1.    hieron  of  Dioscuri     ....... 

2.  virip  twv  ±ioo~Kovp«iv  to  izpov,  precinct  of  Aglauros 
Kara  tovto  e7rava/?avTes  Persians  slew  those  on  Acropolis 

3.  TrXrjatov  Prytaneum   ....... 


26 

27 

28 
29 

3° 
3i 


32 

33 
34 
35 
36 
37 
38 

39 
40 

41 
4- 
43 


54o  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

4.  ivrevOev  lovaiv  eh  to.  kcitoj  t^s  7rdAetos,  hieroil  of  Sarapis  .  44 
ov  7r6ppw,   place  of  agreement  of  Theseus  and  Pirithous      .  45 

5.  ttXtjctlov,  temple  of  Ilithyia         ......  46 

6.  7rplv  es  to    lepov    icvai    tov    Atos    tov   'OXv/x7rtou,  statues  of 

Hadrian        .........     47 

7re/3t/3oAos  of  Zeus  Olympius       ......     48 

18.  9.    (Digression;  other  buildings  of  Hadrian  in  Athens.) 

19.  I.    jnera    tov    vaov    tov    Atos    tov  'OXvp-Trtov,    Statue    of    Apollo 

Pythius         .........     49 

eo-TL  8e  Kal  a\\o  lepov  of  Apollo  Delphinius  .         .         -5° 

2.    Gardens  .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         -51 

2.  temple  of  Aphrodite 52 

Aphrodite  irXrjO-Lov  tov  vaov         .  .  .  .  .  -53 

3.  Hieron  of  Heracles  called  Cynosarges        .         .         .         -54 

4.  Lyceum 55 

5.  o7rto-^ei/ tou  Avkciou,  monument  of  Nisus     .         .         .         -56 

6.  rivers  of  Athens,  llissus  (Eridanus  flowing  into  it)  .  -57 
6  oe  'LWos  outos  evda  Boreas  seized  Orithyia  .  .  -58 
eV  aura!,  altar  of  Ilissian  Muses  .  .  .  .  -59 
SeiKi/irrai  8c  Kal  evda  Codrus  was  killed         .  .  .  .60 

7.  hafia.cn  tov  'IAicroV,  Agrse  .  .  .  .  .  .  .61 

temple  of  Artemis  Agrotera       ......     62 

Stadium    ...........     63 

20.  1.    oltto  tov  TlpvTaveiov,  street  called  Tripods,  .         .         .         .64 

and  works  of  art  in  it,  including  satyr  of  Praxiteles    .         .     65 
iv  tw  vuaJ  tw  TrXyo-iov,  satyr  and  Dionysus  .         .         .         .66 

2.  71-joos  tw  OeaTpw,  oldest  hieron  of  Dionysus,  and  two  tem- 

ples in  it        .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         -67 

3.  7rXr)aiov  tov  tc   lepov  tov  tXiovvcrov   ko.1  tov  BeaTpov,  erection 

in  imitation  of  Xerxes'  tent  (Odeum  of  Pericles)    .         .     68 
(Digression  on  Sulla's  capture  of  Athens.) 

2 1 .  1 .   iv  tu>  OeaTpw,  statues  of  poets. 

4.  €7rt  tov  votlov  Xeyo/xevov  Ttt^ous,  o  e's  to  OeaTpov  eon  rerpap.- 

p.evov,  Medusa's  head  on  aegis         .         .         .         .         .69 

5.  iv  TJj  Kopv<f>fj  to?'  ftearpov,  cave  (monument  of  Thrasyllus)   .     70 

6.  'lovTwv  es  ti/v  'Akp<)tto\iv  airo  tov  OeaTpov,  grave  of  Calos      .     71 

7.  hieron  of  Asclepius  .  .  .  .  •  •  •  •  72 
ev  avTw,  spring  .......••      73 

2  2.    1.     p.era    to    lepov    TOV    ' \crK\rjTVbov    ravTT)     irpo<;    ttjv     hapOTioXiv 

lovcn,  temple  of  Themis  ......     74 

irpb  avTov,  tumulus  to  Ilippolytus        .  .  .  .  -75 


PAUSANIAS   IN    ATHENS 


54i 


3.  Aphrodite  Pandemos         ....... 

hieron  of  ( le  Kourotrophos        ...... 

hieron  of  Demeter  Chloe  ....... 

4.  entrance  to  Acropolis. 
(Description  of  Acropolis.) 

28.  4.      KtlTufSiliri    OVK    €S    T7]V   KaTU)   7ToA.ll/,    dAA'   OCTOV  V7TU   TO    II^J07rvAula, 

spring  (Clepsydra) 
rrhqoriov,  hieron  of  Apollo  in  cave 
(Pan)        

5.  Areopagus         .... 
altar  of  Athena  Areia 
rough  stones,  of  Hybris  and  Anaideia 

6.  7rA)?o-tW,  hieron  of  Semnae 

7.  cvtos  tov  Trepi/36\ov,  monument  of  CEdipus 
(Digression  on  law  courts.) 

29.  1.    tov  'Apetov  Trdyov  TrXrjaiov,  Panathenaic  ship 

(On  to  2£w  rjys  7rdA€ws,  Academy,  etc.). 


76 
77 
78 


79 
80 
81 

82 

83 
84 

85 
86 

87 


CHAPTER    XIV 


THE  PIR.ECS 


"E7ret<T€  oe  kqx  tov  ileipaiais  rot  Aoi7rd  6  ®€/xkttokXtj';  otVoSo/xeiv  (virrjpKTO 

Se  avrov  irportpov  £7ri  tt/s    zkuvov   dp^^s,  ^S    kolt    iviavrov  'AOrjvaLOLs   ijp^e.) 

vopi£u)v  to  \wpLOv  KaXhv  eivat,  Ai/xeVas  ex01'  TPe*-S  avTO<fiV£is. 

—  Thuc.  I.  93.  3. 

6  Se  Ilciputcus  &r}p.os  p.ev  i]v  ck  7raAaioi',  irporepov  8e  irplv  y  ®e/iurTOK\rj<; 
'AOrjvuiovs  r]p£tv  iirivuov  ovk  tjv  '  QaXrjpov  Se,  ravrrj  yap  eAd^torov  d7re^(£i 
t?}s  7toAcojs  rj  OdXacraa,  tovto  a<fnaiv  liriveiOV  rjv,  kol  Me»'ecr0e'a  (frucriv  avroOev 
rats  vavcrlv  es  Tpoi'av  dva^^^rai,  Kai  toutov  Trporepov  ®i](rea  Snjcroi/ra  M<W> 
SiKa?  1-775  'AvSpdyecu  reAeur^s.  0epioroKA»/s  Se  a>s  ^/>£e  (tois  re  yap  ttX(ov- 
ctlv  €7rtr^oetoT£pos  o  Ileipaievs  ec^aiVerd  01  TrpoKelaOai  Kal  AipeVus  Tpeis  dv0' 
eVos  £X£tI/  T0^  ^u-Xr/poL)  to?to  (t<$>mjlv  Ittlvuov  eivat  KaTecr/cei'dcraTo. 

—  Paus.  I.  1.  2. 

While  Athens,  grouped  about  its  sacred  citadel  some 
four  miles  from  the  sea,  is  a  typical  example  of  an  ancient 
Greek  city,  the  Piraeus  is  no  less  typical  of  a  Greek 
harbour  town.  It  bore  the  same  relation  to  Athens  as 
Nisaea  to  Megara,  as  Nauplia  to  Argos,  and  as  Le- 
chaeum  and  Cenchreae  to  Corinth.  But  in  the  case  of  the 
Piraeus  we  have  the  advantage  of  fuller  information  not 
only  as  to  its  topography,  but  also  of  the  manner  in 
which  it  was  adapted  to  the  varying  conditions  of  com- 
merce  and  of  empire.  It  has  therefore  an  interest  of  its 
own,  even  apart  from  its  association  with  Athens;  and 
its  natural  advantages  of  conformation  and  geographical 

542 


THE    PIR/KUS 


543 


position  have  again  made  it  one  of  the  principal  ports  of 
the  Levant,  with  even  more  ambitious  aspirations  for  the 
future. 

We  have  already,  in  Chapter  I.,  noticed  the  broader 
geographical  features,  especially  as  they  affected  Athens; 
but  a  more  detailed  description  of  the  coast  line  is  nec- 


Harbour  of  Phalerum  and  Phaleric  Bay. 
Behind,  Hymettus. 

essary  to  a  comprehension  of  the  Piraeus  and  its  historical 
vicissitudes.  The  nearest  part  of  the  coast  to  Athens  is 
the  broad  and  open  bay  of  Phalerum,  which  has  a  shelv- 
ing sandy  beach  such  as  was  very  convenient  for  beach- 
ing small  ships,  according  to  the  early  Greek  practice. 
This  is,  however,  open  to  the  south-west,  the  prevailing 


544  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

wind  ;  and  although  this  would  not  matter  when  ships 
were  high  and  dry  on  the  land,  it  must  have  made  em- 
barkation and  disembarkation  difficult  at  times.  The 
Phaleric  bay  is  bounded  on  the  east  by  a  rocky  headland, 
Cape  Colias,  on  which  the  wreckage  of  the  Persian  ships 
was  thrown  up  after  the  battle  of  Salamis ;  on  the  west 
by  the  promontory  of  the  Piraeus.  The  nearest  portion 
of  this  is  a  rocky  projection,  enclosing  at  its  extremity  a 
small  harbour,  partly  natural,  partly  protected  by  moles. 
This  is  the  harbour  of  Phalerum.  At  the  back  of 
it  the  ground  runs  up  into  a  hill  which  is  the  highest 
point  of  the  whole  Piraic  peninsula,  and  which  must 
probably  be  identified  as  Munychia.  To  the  south-west 
of  this  hill  a  deep  bay  runs  into  the  shore,  forming  an 
almost  land-locked  basin,  the  harbour  of  Munychia. 
Beyond  this  the  coast  sweeps  round  in  a  succession  of 
irregular  curves,  the  hill  sloping  gently  to  a  rocky  shore, 
until  it  reaches,  on  the  west,  the  entrance  of  the  great 
harbour  that  was,  and  still  is,  the  chief  advantage  of 
the  Piraeus ;  this  harbour  contains  a  sheet  of  water 
nearly  fourteen  hundred  yards  by  eight  hundred,  and  at 
its  northern  and  southern  ends  are  inlets  which  could 
readily  be  adapted  as  separate  arsenals  and  docks.  Its 
entrance  is  protected  on  the  north  by  a  rocky  promon- 
tory, known,  from  the  name  of  a  primitive  owner,  as 
Eetionea.  Just  beyond  this  is  a  narrow  inlet,  known  as 
the  K(ofjj()<;  \ifxrjv  or  "dumb  harbour,"  of  no  practical  use 
because  of  its  rocky  shore;  beyond  this  the  coast  stretches 
away,   first  to  the  west,  then  to  the  north,  and  then  to 


THE    PIRAEUS  545 

the  west  again,  without  any  natural  features  that  con- 
cern us,  until  \vc  come  to  the  ferry  opposite  the  Cyno- 
sura  of  Salamis,  and  the  straits  where  the  Greeks 
routed  the  Persian  fleet  as  it  crowded  into  the  narrow 
channels  on  each  side  of  Psyttalea. 

The  open  bay  of  Phalerum  was  not  only  the  place 
where  the  sea  was  nearest  to  Athens,  but  was  also,  as 
we  have  seen,  a  most  convenient  place  for  beaching 
ships.  Accordingly  we  are  not  surprised  to  learn  that 
it  was  from  here  that  Theseus  sailed  for  Crete  to  face 
the  Minotaur,  and  that  the  Athenian  contingent  put 
off  to  join  the  Greek  fleet  on  its  way  to  Troy.  How 
long  the  Athenians  remained  content  with  this  open 
sandy  bay  we  cannot  tell.  The  first  literary  reference 
to  any  use  being  made  of  the  Piraic  peninsula  is  the 
statement  that  Hippias,  after  the  assassination  of  his 
brother  by  Harmodius  and  Aristogiton,  had  a  project 
of  fortifying  Munychia  and  withdrawing  there,  if  he 
were  turned  out  of  Athens.  This  project,  however, 
was  never  realised,  and  it  is  uncertain  whether  he 
ever  completed  the  fortification.  But  when  Athens 
became  a  sea  power,  after  the  expulsion  of  the  tyrants, 
the  open  beach  no  longer  sufficed  for  her  needs. 
The  splendid  harbours  of  the  Piraeus  lay  ready 
to  hand,  and  it  is  now  difficult  for  us  to  under- 
stand how  they  were  left  so  long  idle.  The  credit 
of  the  change  belongs  to  one  man,  Themistocles,  who 
was  the  founder,  not  only  of  the  Piraeus,  but  of  the  na- 
val  power  of  Athens.     In  his  archonship,  493  B.C.,  he 

2N 


546 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


persuaded  the  Athenians  to  begin  the  building  of  the 
Piraeus,  and  the  construction  of  harbour  works ;  and 
when,  ten  years  later,  the  discovery  of  a  rich  vein  of 
silver  at  Laurium  placed  a  large  sum  at  the  disposal  of 
the  state,  he  induced  them  to  devote  it  to  the  increase 


General  View  of  Piraeus  from  Munychia. 

Harbour  of  Munychia  (Pashalimani) ;    above,  Acte. 

of  the  navy.  The  result  was  that  Athens,  which  previ- 
ously could  barely  muster  fifty  ships,  furnished  two  hun- 
dred triremes  to  the  fleet  which  defeated  the  Persians 
at  Salamis.  After  this  splendid  justification  of  his  pol- 
icy, Themistocles  went   still   farther   in    his  attempt    to 


THE    PIRAEUS 


547 


make  the  Athenians  turn  to  the  sea  for  their  safety  and 
their  power,  and  even  tried  to  persuade  them  to  desert 
Athens  and  build  a  new  city  on  the  Piraic  peninsula. 
Though  he  was  unsuccessful  in  this  attempt,  the  prin- 
ciple which  he  advocated  was  also  that  of  the  policy  of 


General  View  of  Pir.-f.us  from  Munychia. 
Great  harbour  of  Piraeus;    above  its  entrance,  Psyttalea;    beyond  this,  Salamis. 

Pericles.  By  means  of  the  Long  Walls,  Athens  and  the 
Piraeus  were  made  into  a  single  fortified  town,  impreg- 
nable so  long  as  it  retained  the  command  of  the  sea; 
and  it  is  from  this  point  of  view  that  the  naval  and  polit- 
ical development   of    the    Piraeus  must   be   understood. 


548  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

The  fortifications  of  the  harbour  town  have  already  been 
considered  in  relation  to  the  defences  of  Athens ;  here 
we  are  only  concerned  with  them  in  relation  to  the 
topographical  problems  offered  by  the  Piraeus  and  its 
harbours. 

Even  the  smaller  number  of  fifty  ships  that  existed 
before  the  time  of  Themistocles  must  have  found  the 
sandy  bay  of  Phalerum  in  some  ways  inconvenient, 
especially  with  the  rival  island  of  y£gina,  "  the  eyesore 
of  the  Piraeus,"  so  close  at  hand,  and  the  fleets  of  Persia 
at  any  time  ready  to  make  a  descent,  and  destroy  the 
ships  drawn  up  unprotected  on  the  shore.  The  little 
Phaleric  harbour  was  the  nearest  to  the  bay,  which 
probably  continued  to  be  used  for  purposes  of  embark- 
ation and  commerce ;  and  within  the  harbour  there 
would  be  plenty  of  room  for  the  fifty  ships  of  the  early 
Athenian  navy,  with  the  storehouses  and  arsenal  be- 
longing to  them ;  this  small  harbour  would  also  have 
the  advantage  of  being  protected  by  the  fort  on  Mu- 
nychia.  It  is  even  possible  that  the  slip-ways  for  galleys, 
of  which  some  remains  can  still  be  seen  in  the  Phaleric 
harbour,  may  date,  at  least  in  their  original  form,  from 
the  time  before   Themistocles. 

At  the  time  of  the  Persian  Wars,  however,  the  Piraic 
peninsula  was  not  yet  regarded  as  the  arsenal  of  a  great 
naval  power,  the  chief  centre  of  the  strength  of  Athens, 
and  the  guarantee  of  the  independence  of  Greece  from 
a  foreign  conqueror.  At  the  battle  of  Salamis  it  was, 
to    use    the   words   of    the    oracle    of    Bacis,  "the   strait 


THE    PIR/EUS  549 

between  Cynosura  on  Salamis  and  the  sacred  shore  of 
Artemis  of  the  golden  sword  "  that  was  bridged  with 
ships ;  and  tin's  same  sacred  shore,  tepo<?  olkt/j,  is  evi- 
dently regarded  as  part  of  the  region  sacred  to  Artemis 
Munychia.  In  some  other  passages,  too,  Mnnychia  is 
apparently  applied  to  the  whole  promontory  as  its  origi- 
nal name,  though  later  the  term  is  restricted  to  the  fort 
on  the  hill  between  the  two  smaller  harbours,  and  to  the 
district  immediately  surrounding  it. 

The  steps  by  which  the  sacred  promontory  of  Mu- 
nychia was  transformed  into  the  town  and  arsenal  of 
Piraeus  cannot  be  traced  in  all  their  succession.  The 
project  was  that  of  Themistocles ;  but  we  do  not  know 
how  much  of  it  was  realised  before  his  exile.  We  can 
only  describe  the  town's  formation  in  its  results,  not  in 
its  progress ;  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  Themistocles 
lived  to  see  the  ultimate  development  of  the  work  he 
had  begun. 

The  town  of  Piraeus  enjoyed  a  distinction,  quite  apart 
from  its  relation  to  Athens,  in  the  manner  in  which  it 
was  laid  out.  This  was  done  after  the  designs  of  Hippo- 
dam  us  of  Miletus,  the  famous  architect  who  also  laid 
out  the  city  of  Rhodes,  which  is  said  by  Strabo  to  have 
resembled  the  Piraeus  in  character.  Some  notion  of  his 
design  can  still  be  gained  from  the  traces  of  streets  and 
houses  and  boundary  stones,  of  which  several  have  been 
found  ;  it  consisted  of  a  system  of  broad,  straight  streets, 
crossing  one  another  at  right  angles,  with  various  spa- 
cious squares,  devoted  to  religious  or  civil  use.     One  of 


550  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

these,  the  Agora  of  Hippodamus,  was  situated  in  a  central 
position.  The  road  from  Athens  led  into  this  square, 
and  from  it  was  another  broad  road  leading  to  the  temple 
of  Artemis  Munychia,  which  was  situated  on  the  harbour 
of  the  same  name.  This  temple  was  probably  on  the  site 
of  the  old  shrine  that  had  given  its  sanctity  to  the  whole 
peninsula ;  and  another  early  shrine  may  have  been  the 
temple  of  Demeter  at  Phalerum.  The  chief  temple  in 
the  town  itself  was  that  of  Zeus  Soter,  with  whom  was 
associated  Athena  Soteira ;  festivities  were  held  in  his 
honour,  with  processions  through  the  streets ;  his  altar 
—  a  fine  work  of  art  by  Cephisodotus,  who  also  made 
the  statue  of  Athena  —  was  decked  periodically,  and 
dedications  were  often  made  to  him  or  sacrifices  offered 
in  his  honour  by  sailors  and  others.  Fine  quays  and 
wharves  were  constructed,  with  porticoes  and  market 
halls.  The  chief  building  of  this  sort  was  the  Deigma, 
a  sort  of  Exchange  where  merchants  could  congregate, 
show  one  another  samples  of  their  goods,  and  transact 
their  business,  with  the  help  of  the  bankers  who  kept 
their  stalls  in  the  same  building.  This  Exchanq-e  was 
on  the  quay  —  a  position  which  had  the  inconvenience 
of  exposing  it  to  a  sudden  raid. 

All  these  buildings  were  probably  part  of  the  design 
of  Hippodamus,  and,  as  he  laid  out  the  city  of  Rhodes 
in  408  B.C.,  it  is  not  easy  to  assign  his  work  to  an  earlier 
date  than  that  of  Pericles,  to  whom  some  of  the  porticoes 
are  expressly  assigned.  He  may,  indeed,  have  been  one 
of  the    Ionians  who   came    at    Cimon's    invitation ;    but 


THE    I'lk.KCS  55i 

this  is  improbable  both  politically  and  chronologically; 
though  Cimon  built  the  Long  Walls,  we  can  hardly 
suppose  him  to  have  thrown  himself  so  heartily  into  the 
schemes  of  Themistocles  as  to  devote  so  much  thought 
and  expense  to  the  decoration  of  the  town  that  states- 
man had  founded.  The  design  of  Hippodamus  is,  on 
the  other  hand,  most  appropriate  to  Pericles.  We  have 
seen  how  bold  were  the  innovations  he  proposed  on  the 
Acropolis.  He  could  not  reconstruct  the  town  of 
Athens,  and  substitute  broad  and  even  streets  for  its 
tortuous  and  narrow  alleys ;  but  he  would  welcome  the 
opportunity  of  exhibiting,  in  the  Piraeus,  an  example  of 
a  splendid  city,  such  as  contrasted  with  the  somewhat 
mean  appearance  of  the  houses  and  streets  of  the  older 
town,  and  would  have  offered  a  more  harmonious  setting 
to  its  unrivalled  temples  and  monuments. 

So  far  we  have  been  concerned  only  with  the  town 
of  the  Piraeus ;  before  pursuing  its  history  further,  we 
must  turn  our  attention  to  the  harbours.  The  old  har- 
bour of  Phalerum  still  continued  in  use,  though  the 
galley-slips  which  it  contained,  being  less  commodious 
and  less  solidly  constructed  than  those  in  Munychia, 
were  perhaps  reserved  for  lighter  slips ;  little  is  left  of 
them  now  except  a  portion  of  the  slip-ways.  The  super- 
structure was  probably  made  entirely  of  wood.  It  is  to 
be  noted  that  the  harbour  of  Phalerum  is  not  included 
in  the  three  which  provided  the  372  slips  available  for 
docking  the  ships  of  the  line  in  the  fourth  century.  It 
was  enclosed  within  the  line  of  fortification ;  the  wall  ran 


552 


ANCIENT   ATHENS 


along  the  two  moles  that  protected  it,  ending  in  a  tower 
on  either  side  of  the  entrance,  which  was  probably 
guarded  by  a  chain. 

The  deeper  inlet  which  ends  in  the  circular  basin  of 
the  harbour  of  Munychia  was  provided  with  similar 
fortifications  at  its  entrance.     Within  it  the  galley-slips 


Harbour  of  Phalerum  (Fanari). 

are,  in  two  or  three  places,  much  better  preserved. 
What  we  now  see  may  be  the  result  of  reconstruction 
or  repairs  in  the  fourth  century,  if  not  later,  but  there  is 
no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  arrangements  at  that  time 
differed  from  those  of  the  best  days  of  the  Athenian  em- 
pire, and  therefore  they  may  appropriately  be  described 
here.  The  slips  were  bordered  at  their  upper  end  by 
a   wall    which   ran,   in   a    polygonal    shape,   all    round   the 


THE  PIR/EUS  553 

harbour,  or  the  greater  part  of  it;  and  outside  this  wall 
was  a  road.  The  slips  themselves  sloped  down  at  a 
gentle  gradient  from  this  wall  to  their  lower  end,  which 
opened  directly  on  the  water.  Thus  a  galley  could 
back  directly  on  to  the  lower  end  of  its  slip-way,  and 
be  hauled  up  clear  of  the  water  by  means  of  a  wind- 
lass. The  remains  of  the  blocks  on  which  the  keel 
was  supported  still  remain  in  some  cases,  both  in  Phale- 
rum  and  in  Munychia.  Between  them,  in  Munychia, 
there  may  be  seen  also  the  lower  drums  of  the  rows  of 
columns  that  supported  the  roof.  These  are  alternately 
placed  with  wider  or  narrower  intercolumniations,  and 
carried,  according  to  Professor  Dorpfeld's  restoration,  a 
roof  arranged  in  a  row  of  gables  all  round  the  harbour, 
so  that  two  triremes  were  housed  under  each  gable. 
The  slip  for  each  galley  measures  over  44. J  m.  (  =  145 
feet)  in  length  by  6.50  m.  ( =  21  feet)  in  width ;  and  from 
these  dimensions  we  can  obtain  an  approximate  notion  of 
the  size  of  the  ancient  trireme.  If  we  allow  for  the  pro- 
jections at  the  side  to  accommodate  the  rowers,  its  hull, 
both  in  size  and  proportions,  must  have  resembled  that 
of  a  modern  "  destroyer  " ;  like  them,  it  was  built  almost 
entirely  for  speed,  and  must  have  been  very  uncomfort- 
able in  a  rough  or  choppy  sea. 

The  great  harbour  of  the  Piraeus  wras  divided  into 
several  parts,  of  which  the  names  are  recorded.     Two 

1  The  measurement  cannot  be  exactly  ascertained,  as  the  lower  ends  are  under 
water  now.  I  take  this  estimate  from  Angelopoulos,  irepl  Heipai&s  kcu  tGiv  \ip,evwv 
aiirov,  p.  67. 


554  ANCIENT  ATHENS 

of  these  must  be  Cantharus  [  and  Zea,  which  are  men- 
tioned in  the  official  lists  of  the  distribution  of  the 
galley-slips.  The  order  of  the  different  parts  of  the 
harbour  is  described  in  part  by  the  Scholiast  of  Aris- 
tophanes, Peace.  145,  who  says,  "The  Piraeus  has  three 
harbours,  all  enclosed ;  one  is  the  harbour  of  Cantharus 
...  in  which  are  the  dockyards,  then  the  Aphrodision, 
and  then  five  stoae  surrounding  the  harbour."  Some 
of  these  buildings  are  subsequent  to  the  time  with  which 
we  are  now  concerned ;  but  the  position  indicated  for 
Cantharus,  just  within  the  entrance  of  the  harbour  on 
the  south  side,  and  extending  about  as  far  as  the  modern 
custom-house,  is  clear  enough ;  and  in  this  region  earlier 
travellers  saw  the  remains  of  galley-slips,  though  they 
have  now  disappeared.  This  is,  curiously  enough,  the 
usual  anchorage  at  the  present  day  for  men-of-war,  both 
Greek  and  foreign.  The  greater  part  of  the  quays 
facing  the  south-east  side  of  the  harbour,  and  adjoining 
the  streets  of  the  town,  must  have  been  given  up  to 
commercial  purposes ;  the  Deigma,  or  Exchange,  and 
other  porticoes  probably  opened  on  to  them.  The  only 
place  that  remains  for  Zea  is  the  extreme  north  end 
of  the  harbour,  near  to  the  present  railway  station;  this 
is  used  at  present  chiefly  for  small  boats,  and  could 
easily  have  been  adapted  to  the  purposes  of  an  ancient 
arsenal.'2     Here    was  the   chief  ship-building   yard,   and 

1  The  view  held  l>y  some  authorities  that  Cantharus  means  the  whole  of  the  great 
harbour  is  untenable  if  Zea  was  there  also. 

-  Cf.  Wilder,  p.  419,  (Porto-Lione)  "within,  it  enlargeth  itself  into  a  consider- 
able Harbour,  with  depth  enough,  and  good  Anchorage  all  over;  except  a  little  liay 


GALLEY- SLIPS  IN  HARBOUR  OF  MUNVCHIA 

after   Dorpfeld. 


PLAN. 


Walker  &  Cockerell  sc. 


LONGITUDINAL    SECTION    (restored). 


Scale  of  Feet 
o       10     20     30     40     50     60 

Scale  of  Metres 
1  o  1  «  10  i<  2 

v  .  ■  .  ■  1 £ 


nfePfto-1  v^u&? 


TRANSVERSE   SECTION 
(restored). 


THE   PIRAEUS  555 

storehouses  and  workshops  must  have  surrounded  it, 
even  before  the  splendid  additions  that  were  made  to 
these  in  the  fourth  century.  Beyond  it,  on  the  north- 
west side  of  the  harbour,  was  Eetionea,  with  a  space  too 
narrow  to  be  of  much  practical  use,  though  it  was  essen- 
tial to  the  defence  of  the  harbour,  and  was  for  this  rea- 
son of  considerable  importance. 

Such  must  have  been,  in  the  main,  the  character  of 
the  Piraeus  and  its  harbours  as  projected  by  Themis- 
tocles  and  completed  by  Pericles,  and  as  it  existed  dur- 
ing the  greater  part  of  the  Peloponnesian  War.  Its 
extraordinary  efficiency  as  an  arsenal  and  dockyard  is 
sufficiently  attested  by  the  record  of  the  various  suc- 
cessive fleets  sent  out  by  the  Athenians  during  the  war. 
At  Salamis  Athens  had  provided  a  fleet  of  two  hundred 
ships ;  to  the  disastrous  Sicilian  expedition  she  sent 
forth  in  415  b.c.  134  triremes,  and  reinforced  them  in 
413  b.c  by  7 3  more;  yet,  in  spite  of  the  total  loss  of 
these  207  ships,  she  could  still  maintain  her  command 
of  the  seas  at  home ;  and  when  the  disaster  had  injured 
her  prestige,  she  could  recover  it  in  a  succession  of 
naval  actions,  and,  after  a  reverse,  could  make  up  an 
emergency  fleet  of  150  ships  to  send  to  the  battle  of 
Arginusae  in  406  b.c      The   rapidity  and    efficiency  of 


at  the  utmost  point  of  it :  which  seems  to  have  been  formerly  a  small  Harbour  for 
Barques;  though  now  choaked  up.  But  that  which  I  judge  most  considerable  is, 
that  the  nature  of  the  place  is  such,  that  though  a  Ship  should  happen  to  be  driven 
upon  the  shore,  yet  it  may  get  off  again  without  damage."  It  would,  in  fact,  have 
been  a  good  place  for  beaching  ships,  according  to  the  old  custom,  even  before  the 
galley-slips  were  made. 


556  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

Athenian  ship-building  could  hardly  receive  a  stronger 
testimonial.  In  the  fourth  century  the  usual  number 
of  the  fleet  was  about  four  hundred. 

The  history  of  the  Piraeus,  from  the  architectural  as 
well  as  from  the  political  point  of  view,  is  of  course 
closely  bound  up  with  that  of  Athens ;  but  there  were 
certain  events  that  affected  the  Piraeus  especially.  The 
first  of  these  was  during  the  rule  of  the  Four  Hundred 
in  Athens  in  411  b.c.  They,  or  rather  the  extreme 
party  among  them,  endeavoured  to  fortify  Eetionea,  sup- 
plementing its  external  defences  by  walls  also  tenable 
against  an  attack  from  the  harbour  or  city.  Their 
object  in  this  was  to  control  the  entrance  to  the  har- 
bour, so  as  to  be  able  either  to  prevent  the  return 
of  the  democratic  Athenian  fleet  from  Samos,  or 
to  admit  the  Spartans.  There  is  no  doubt  that  to 
have  made  Eetionea  into  a  fort  tenable  by  a  small 
garrison  would  have  been  even  a  more  serious  menace  to 
the  safety  of  Athens  than  the  fortification  of  Munychia ; 
but  the  project  never  was  completed,  owing  chiefly  to  the 
opposition  of  Theramenes.  The  fort  on  Munychia,  on 
the  other  hand,  plays  an  important  part  in  the  history  of 
Athens,  and  Leake  has  admirably  shown  how  its  posses- 
sion again  and  again  decided  the  fate  of  the  city.  The 
most  conspicuous  example  was  when  Thrasybulus  and 
his  band  of  exiles  from  Phyle  seized  it,  and  made  it  the 
basis  from  which  they  conducted  their  successful  attack 
on  the  Thirty  Tyrants,  and  so  began  the  restoration  of 
Athens  after  her  fall   at  the  close  of  the  Peloponnesian 


THE    PIRAEUS  557 

War.  This  exploit  of  Thrasybulus  made  such  an  im- 
pression on  the  popular  imagination  that  a  miraculous 
incident  is  said  to  have  accompanied  his  night  march  ; 
his  men  were  said  to  have  been  led  through  the  darkness 
by  a  pillar  of  light,  and  in  consequence  an  altar  was 
established  on  Munychia  to  Phosphoros  —  probably  an 
epithet  of  Artemis,  who  had  thus  shown  her  favour  to 
those  who  came  to  occupy  her  sacred  hill. 

The  second  stage  in  the  restoration  of  Athenian 
power,  the  return  of  Conon  to  rebuild  the  Long  Walls 
after  his  great  naval  victory  at  Cnidus,  was  also  cele- 
brated by  a  temple  dedicated  in  the  Piraeus  —  in  this 
case  to  Aphrodite  Euploia,  the  sea-goddess  of  Cnidus,  to 
whose  favour  he  attributed  the  victory  won  within  sight 
of  her  shrine.  This  temple  of  Aphrodite  at  the  Piraeus 
was  the  one  situated  between  Cantharus  and  the  range 
of  porticoes  along  the  quays,  —  that  is  to  say,  just  about 
on  the  site  of  the  modern  custom-house,  where  it  would 
be  a  most  conspicuous  object  to  all  who  entered  the 
harbour. 

The  naval  reorganisation  of  the  fourth  century  brought 
with  it  not  only  extensive  repairs  and  reconstruction  of 
the  dockyards  and  galley-slips,  but  also,  under  the  ad- 
ministration of  Lycurgus,  the  completion  of  a  building 
which  is  perhaps  known  to  us  more  in  detail  than  any 
other  lost  monument  of  antiquity,  and  than  many  that 
are  partially  preserved.  This  is  the  famous  crKevoOiJKr} 
or  arsenal  built  by  Philo,  the  same  architect  who  later 
built  the  great  portico  of  the  Hall  of  the  Mysteries  at 


558  ANCIENT   ATHENS 

Eleusis.  The  specification  for  this  building  has  been 
preserved  to  us  in  an  inscription,  which,  though  obscure 
in  some  details,  gives  a  very  clear  notion  of  the  building 
as  a  whole.  It  was  designed  to  be  a  storehouse  for  rig- 
ging, and  was  intended  to  supersede  both  a  smaller  stone 
building  and  temporary  wooden  ones  that  had  been  in  use 
before.  It  was  intended  only  for  the  rigging  belonging 
to  the  ships  in  Zea,  the  largest  of  the  naval  harbours, 
and  was  situated  near  the  gateway  leading  from  the 
Agora,  and  behind  the  galley-slips  that  were  covered, 
like  those  of  Munychia,  by  a  continuous  roof.  Its  length 
was  to  be  400  feet,  its  breadth  55 ;  it  was  to  be  built  in 
the  main,  both  walls  and  columns,  of  Piraic  limestone 
(aKTLTrjs  \l0os),  but  more  conspicuous  or  important  parts, 
such  as  the  lintels  and  thresholds  of  the  doors,  and  the 
capitals  of  the  columns,  were  to  be  of  Pentelic  or  Hymet- 
tian  marble.  The  roof  was  of  tiles,  supported  on  wooden 
beams  and  rafters.  The  building  was  to  end  in  gables, 
and  to  have  windows  in  its  sides,  opposite  every  inter- 
columniation,  and  great  doorways  at  the  ends,  closed  by 
bronze-plated  doors.  The  whole  was  divided  into  a  nave 
and  two  aisles  by  two  rows  of  columns ;  and  the  aisles 
were  to  be  provided  with  every  convenience  for  storing 
ships'  gear,  such  as  shelves  for  cables,  and  ladders  to 
reach  them,  and  boxes  for  sails,  etc.  In  the  middle  was 
a  passage  twenty  feet  broad,  between  the  two  rows  of 
columns,  separated  from  the  aisles  by  a  partition  three 
feet  high.  The  evident  intention  was  that  the  building 
should  constantly  remain  open  to  public  inspection,  and 


THE   PIRAEUS  559 

that  all  storage  room  should  be  arranged  so  that  its  con- 
tents were  easily  visible  from  the  central  nave.  Even 
ventilation  is  provided  for  in  the  specification.  The 
whole  building  is  an  admirable  example  of  the  detailed 
way  in  which  work  to  be  done  for  the  state  was  pre- 
scribed, and  also  of  the  publicity,  in  the  Athenian 
democracy,  even  of  matters  that  are  sometimes  re- 
garded as  state  secrets.  With  such  an  arsenal  there 
certainly  could  never  be  any  doubt,  either  in  the  mind 
of  a  citizen  or  of  an  enemy,  as  to  the  condition  of  naval 
stores. 

In  the  Hellenistic  age,  there  is  little  to  record  of 
the  Piraeus  but  successive  occupations  of  the  fort  of 
Munychia  by  different  foreign  garrisons.  The  Piraeus 
continued  a  place  of  importance  until  it  was  vindictively 
destroyed  by  Sulla ;  it  recovered  very  slowly  from  this 
disaster,  and  in  Strabo's  time  was  still  in  a  much 
reduced  condition ;  but  the  description  of  Pausanias 
implies  that  in  his  time  it  had  again  become  a  flourish- 
ing town.  He  approached  Athens  by  sea,  passing  under 
Sunium  with  its  temple  of  Athena,  and  he  still  saw  in 
the  great  harbour  of  Piraeus  the  sheds  and  slips  for  the 
galleys,  and  the  tomb  of  Themistocles  at  the  entrance. 
He  saw,  too,  the  precinct  of  Zeus  Soter  and  Athena, 
with  its  two  bronze  statues,  Zeus  with  sceptre  and  Nike, 
and  Athena  with  a  spear.  Here,  too,  was  a  portrait 
group  by  Arcesilaus,  of  Leosthenes  and  his  sons ;  he 
was  the  hero  of  the  Lamian  War,  and,  had  he  not  fallen 
in  battle,  the  Greeks  he  led  might  have  had  more  sue- 


56o  ANCIENT  ATHENS 

cess  in  resisting  Macedon.  The  Long  Stoa,  one  of 
those  facing  the  quay,  and  at  the  northern  end,  since  it 
was  the  one  included  in  the  fort  of  Eetionea  by  the 
Four  Hundred,  was  still  in  the  time  of  Pausanias  the 
chief  market  near  the  port ;  and  another  which  he  says 
was  remote  from  it  must  be  the  famous  Agora  of  Hippo- 
damus,  the  centre  of  the  city  laid  out  by  the  Milesian 
architect.  Behind  the  Long  Stoa  were  statues  of  Zeus 
and  Demos,  by  Leochares,  the  latter  another  of  those 
impersonations  of  the  people  of  Athens  that  so  many 
sculptors  and  painters  vied  with  another  in  portraying. 
The  most  conspicuous  building  in  the  harbour  was  the 
temple  of  the  Cnidian  Aphrodite,  dedicated  by  Conon; 
and  so,  appropriately  enough,  the  two  names  first  re- 
called to  the  memory  of  a  visitor  who  came  to  the 
Piraeus  by  sea  were  those  of  its  founder  Themistocles, 
whose  tomb  was  just  outside  the  entrance,  and  of  Conon, 
who  restored  its  prosperity  by  his  great  Cnidian  victory, 
and  whose  thank-offering  to  the  goddess  of  Cnidus  stood 
on  the  right  as  one  sailed  into  the  harbour. 

So  long  as  Athens  continued  to  be  recognised  as  the 
intellectual  metropolis  of  the  ancient  world,  the  Piraeus 
must  have  retained  something  of  its  old  importance. 
But  in  mediaeval  times  it  came  to  be  little  used. 
Wheler  says:  "  The  Town  that  was  here  in  former  times, 
is  now  utterly  ruined,  and  deserted,  with  all  the  admira- 
ble Porticoes,  and  Edifices,  Pausanias  describeth.  The 
only  Building  that  now  remaineth  is  a  kind  of  Ware- 
house, to  receive   Merchandises,  to  gather  the  Customs 


THE    PIRAEUS  561 

and  Taxes ;  and  where  the  Vcivode,  for  the  most  part, 
layeth  up  his  Vclauia,  to  sell  to  the  Merchants."  The 
only  survival  from  classical  time  was  a  colossal  lion  of 
Greek  workmanship,  from  which  the  Piraeus  was  named 
in  mediaeval  times  Porto  Leone  or  Porto  Drako  (mon- 
ster). This  lion  was  carried  off  by  Morosini  to  Venice, 
and  now  stands  there  in  the  arsenal.  It  bears  a  pecul- 
iar interest  for  us  in  the  names  carved  upon  it,  which 
have  been  deciphered  as  recording  a  visit  to  the  Piraeus 
by  comrades  of  Harold  Hardrada,  the  same  man  who 
fell  before  our  Harold  at  Stamford  Bridge,  just  before 
the  battle  of  Hastings. 

The  new  prosperity  of  the  Piraeus  dates  from  the 
establishment  of  Athens  as  the  capital  of  independent 
Greece.  Its  streets  have  again  been  laid  out  with 
regularity,  set  at  right  angles  and  with  spacious  open 
squares ;  but  the  squalid  shops  and  workhouses  of  a 
Levantine  port  are  a  poor  substitute  for  the  splendid 
porticoes  of  the  old  harbour  town.  It  already  has  be- 
come once  more  the  chief  port  of  the  ^Egean,  and  is 
ambitious  to  play  a  still  more  important  role  in  the 
development  of  the  great  route  between  East  and  West. 
But  in  the  eyes  of  many,  its  chief  interest  will  still  lie 
in  the  little  Greek  fishing  boats  and  coasting  ships,  that 
still  retain  much  of  the  character  of  the  ancient  vessels 
unchanged  since  Theseus  sailed  from  Phalerum  with  the 
human  tribute  for  Minos  in  Crete,  and  Menestheus 
put  off  with  his  fifty  ships  to  join  the  Greek  fleet  on 
its  way  to  Troy. 
20 


562  ANCIENT  ATHENS 

NOTE   XIV  a. 
The  Three  Harbours  of  the  Piraeus. 

A  considerable  amount  of  confusion  has  been  caused  by  ancient  refer- 
ences to  the  three  harbours  of  the  Piraeus,  because  modern  scholars 
have,  not  unnaturally,  supposed  that  the  same  three  harbours  are  always 
referred  to,  especially  where,  as  in  the  passages  quoted  at  the  beginning 
of  Chapter  XIV.,  the  later  author  is  evidently  referring  to  the  earlier. 
As  a  fact,  however,  the  various  references  to  three  harbours,  those  of 
Thucydides,  of  Pausanias,  and  of  the  Attic  official  documents,  each  of 
them  refers  to  a  different  set  of  three,  as  is  obvious  enough  when  one 
examines  the  matter. 

Thucydides  speaks  of  three  natural  harbours  in  the  Piraic  promon- 
tory, before  Themistocles  took  it  in  hand.  These  can  only  be  the  great 
(Piraic)  harbour  on  the  north-west  side  and  the  two  smaller  inlets 
(Munychian    and    Phaleric)    on   the    south-east. 

Pausanias  points  out  the  superiority  of  the  Piraic  harbour  in  the  nar- 
rower sense,  that  is  to  say  the  great  north-west  harbour,  because  it 
contained,  as  organised  in  later  times,  three  harbours,  Cantharus,  Zea, 
and  the  commercial  harbour  of  Emporion. 

The  official  documents  speak  of  the  dry  docks  for  galleys  in  three 
naval  arsenals,  those  of  Munychia,  Zea,  and  Cantharus. 

It  appears,  then,  that  the  occurrence  of  the  number  three  in  all  these 
accounts  is  misleading.  In  reality  there  are  five  harbours  referred  to  : 
those  of  Phalerum,  of  Munychia,  and  of  Zea,  Cantharus,  and  Emporion, 
these  last  three  together  constituting  the  great  harbour  of  Piraeus  ;  and 
the  various  authorities  just  quoted  happen  to  select  three  of  these,  but  a 
different  three  in  each  case,  for  their  special  purpose.  Pausanias, 
i ii<  leed,  guards  against  error  by  saying,  a  little  later,  that,  besides  the 
Piraeus,  Athens  has  the  harbours  of  Munychia  and  Phalerum.  Those 
who  arc  familiar  with  recent  maps  or  books  on  the  Piraeus  will  notice 
that  I  differ  from  most  recent  topographers,  and  have  returned,  in  the 
main,  to  the  topography  of  Leake,  both  as  regards  the  walls  and  as 
re  ;ards  the  harbours.  In  the  case  of  the  harbours  I  am  induced  to  do 
this  mainly  by  the  facts  pointed  out  by  M.  Angelopoulos 4n  his  pamphlet, 


THE   PIRAEUS  563 

Ilept  TiupaLws  Kdl  twv  Xt/xivoiv  avrov   (Athens,  1898).     He  quotes  the 
numbers  of  slip-ways  for  galleys  recorded  for  the  different  naval  har- 
bours, viz. :  — 

Munychia     .....  82 

Zea      .         .         .         .         .         .         196 

Cantharus     .....  94 

372 

and  compares  them  with  the  breadth  of  the  slips  of  which  the  remains 
may  still  be  seen,  viz.  6.25  m.  in  Fanari  and  6.50  in  Pashalimani.  It 
follows  from  these  data  that  the  number  of  slip- ways  recorded  for 
Munychia  would  require  a  minimum  shore  line  at  the  lower  end  of  the 
docks  of  512  m.  for  the  smaller  breadth,  and  of  533  m.  for  the  greater; 
and  similarly  the  minimum  shore  line  of  Zea,  for  the  greater  breadth, 
would  be  1274  m.  And  this,  too,  allows  none  of  the  necessary  intervals 
for  quays,  etc.  Now  the  available  space  in  Fanari,  at  the  lower  end  of 
the  slip-ways,  is  only  440  m. ;  therefore  its  now  customary  identifica- 
tion as  the  harbour  of  Munychia  must  be  erroneous  ;  and  the  available 
space  in  Pashalimani,  measured  in  the  same  manner,  is  only  900  m. ; 
therefore  its  identification  as  Zea  must  also  be  wrong.  I  have  verified 
M.  Angelopoulos's  measurements  on  the  best  available  maps,  and  they 
appear  to  me  to  be  correct ;  nor  have  they,  to  my  knowledge,  been 
challenged.  There  is,  therefore,  no  alternative  but  to  return  to  Leake's 
identification  of  Fanari  as  the  harbour  of  Phalerum,  and  of  Pashalimani, 
as  the  harbour  of  Munychia ;  and  Zea  must  be  placed,  like  Cantharus, 
in  the  great  harbour  of  the  Piraeus. 

The  shifting  of  the  harbour  of  Munychia  from  Fanari  to  Pashalimani 
does  not  necessarily  involve  the  shifting  of  Munychia  itself;  for  the 
position  now  generally  assigned  to  it  lies  between  the  two,  and  so  either 
might  be  named  after  it.  The  arguments  given  by  Leake  for  his  iden- 
tification of  Munychia  as  the  extreme  part  of  the  peninsula  are  strong ; 
but  the  discovery  of  a  boundary  stone  of  Munychia  to  the  north-east  of 
the  great  harbour  seems  to  settle  the  question. 


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EXPLANATION  OF  NUMBERS  REFERRING  TQ    ROUTE  OF   PA1  SANJAS 

(See  Note  XIII  b.  p.  538) 

Meeting-]. lace  of  Theseus  and   Piri- 

thous. 
Temple  of  Ilithyia. 
Statues  of  I  [adrian. 
Precinct  of  Zeus  <  'lympius. 
Pvthium. 

Sanctuary  of  Apollo  1 
Gardens. 

Temple  of  Aphrodite. 
Statue  of  Aphrodite. 
<  'ynosarges. 
Lyceum. 

Monument  of  Xisus. 
Ilissus. 

Place  where  Boreas  seized  Orithyia. 
Altar  of  Ilissian  Muses. 
Place  where  Codrus  fell. 
Agrae. 

Temple  of  Artemis  Agrotera, 
Stadium. 

Street  of  the  Trip 
Works  of  art  in  Street  of  'lit 
Satyr  and  Dionysus  in  temple. 
Sanctuary    of   Dionysus    beside    tl,< 

Theatre. 
Odeum  of  Pericles. 
Gorgonjafon  on  wall  of  Acropolis. 
Cave  with  monument  of  Thrasyjlus. 
Grave  of  Calos. 
Sanctuary  of  Asclepius. 
Spring. 

Temple  of  Themis. 
Tumulus  to  Hippolytus. 
Temple  of  Aphrodite  Pandemos. 
Ge  Kourotrophos. 
Demeter  Chloe. 
Clepsydra. 

^  Caves  of  Apollo  and  Pan. 

Areopagus. 

Altar  of  Athena  Areia. 

Stones  of  Hybris  and  Anaideia. 

Sanctuary  of  Semnse. 

Monument  ofCEdipus. 

Panathenaic  Ship. 


I. 

Pompeum. 

45- 

2. 

Temple  of  Demeter. 

3- 

Porticoes. 

46. 

4- 

Sanctuaries  of  various  gods. 

47- 

5- 

( ■ymnasium  of  Hermes. 

48. 

6. 

1  louse  of  Pulytion. 

49- 

7- 

Dedication  of  Eubulides. 

50. 

8. 

House  with  clay  images. 

51- 

9- 

Stoa  Basileios. 

52. 

10. 

Statues  of  Conon  and  Kvagoras. 

53- 

11. 

Zeus  Eleuthereus. 

54- 

12. 

Stoa  with  paintings  by  Euphranor. 

55- 

13- 

Temple  of  Apollo  Patrons. 

50. 

14. 

Statues  by  Leochares  and  Calamis: 

57- 

'5- 

Metroum. 

58. 

16. 

Buleuterium. 

59- 

'7- 

Tholus. 

60. 

18. 

Statues  of  Eponymi. 

61. 

19- 

Group    of   statues,  one   of    Demos- 

62. 

thenes. 

63- 

20. 

Temple  of  Ares. 

64. 

21. 

Pindar,  and  other  statues. 

65. 

22. 

Harmodius  and  Aristogiton. 

66. 

23- 

Odeum. 

67. 

24. 

Statues  of  Egyptian  kings. 

25- 

Statue  of  Pyrrhus. 

68. 

26. 

Enneacrunus. 

69. 

27- 

Temples    of    Demeter    and   Tripto- 

70. 

lemus. 

71- 

28. 

Statue  of  Epimenides. 

72- 

29. 

Temple  of  Eucleia. 

73- 

3°. 

Temple  of  Ilephsstus. 

74- 

3i- 

Temple  of  Aphrodite  Urania. 

75- 

32. 

Hermes  Agoraios. 

76. 

33- 

Triumphal  Arch. 

77- 

34- 

Stoa  Pcecile. 

78. 

35- 

Statues,  one  of  Solon. 

79- 

36. 

Seleucus. 

80. 

37- 

Altar  of  Pity. 

81. 

38. 

Gymnasium  of  Ptolemy. 

82. 

39- 

Theseum. 

83- 

40. 

Sanctuary  of  Dioscuri. 

84. 

4i- 

Precinct  of  Aglauros. 

85- 

42. 

Ascent  of  Persians. 

86. 

43- 

Prytaneum. 

87. 

44- 

Sanctuary  of  Serapis.                              , 

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ATHENS 
SHOWING  ANCIENT  SITES. 
Route  of  Pausanias  shown 
by  numbers. 


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INDEX 


Academy,  the,  24,  64,  68. 

Acamas,  520. 

Acrocorinth,  the,  9. 

Acropolis,  the,  bombardment  of,  506. 

bronzes  from,  174-176. 

dismantling  of,  by  Persians,  48,  97. 

rock  from,  29-30. 

siege  of,  by  Turks,  355. 

walls  of,  36-44,  52-54. 

water  supply  of,  25-26,  61. 
Acroteria  at  Epidaurus,  341-342. 
/Egaleos,  10. 
.Egeus,  395,  520. 
/Egina,  2,  3,  14,  135,  312,  548. 
.Eschines,  70,  452. 
.Eschylus,  99-100,  389,  434,  436. 

tomb  of,  523. 
Agatharchus,  407. 
Aglauros,  303,  525. 

precinct  of,  134.  525-526. 

sanctuary  of,  126,  138. 
Agora,  the,  63,  88,  126-128,  381,  455. 

of  Hippodamus  (Piraeus),  550. 
Agoracritus,  396. 
Agoranomion,  the,  503. 
Agra',  91,  120-121,  140,  523,  529. 
Agraulos,  grotto  of,  47,  54,  97. 
Agrippeum,  the  so-called,  496. 
Ajax,  statue  of,  521. 
Akte,  limestone  from,  30. 
Alabastron,  the,  172. 
Alcamenes,  statues  by,  31,  248,  397-398, 

435-453.  5>4.  52§.  529- 
Alcibiades,  407,  516. 

in  pictures  in  PropyLea,  241. 
Alcippe,  98,  530. 
Alcmseonidse,  the,  45,  96,  187. 
Alexander  the  Great,  479,  480-4S1,  521. 


Altars  of — 

Alcmena,  528. 

Athena,  84,  209,  249. 

Athena  Areia,  100,  531. 

Athena  and  Posidon,  532. 

Hebe,  528. 

Heracles,  52S. 

Ilissian  Muses,  528. 

Iolaus,  528. 

Pan,  92. 

of  Phosphoros  |  Artemis  ?),  557. 

Pity  (or  Mercy),  524. 

Prometheus,  532. 

Zeus  Astrapaios,  96,  144. 

Zeus  Herkeios,  77,  251,  363,  365. 

Zeus'T^to-ros,  104,  106. 
Amazons,  battles  of  Greeks  and,  98-99, 

282,  349,  388,  392. 
Amphicrates,  242. 
Amphitrite,  on  Parthenon  pediment,  300. 

Perseus'  visit  to,  in  painting  and  pot- 
tery, 392-393- 
Amphorreas,  Panathenaic  prizes,  170-171. 
Amynos,  1 15,  140. 
Anacreon,  statue  of,  250. 
Anakeion,  the,  97,  393. 
Andocides,  70. 
Andronicus  of  Cyrrhus,  488. 
Androutsos,  Odysseus,  23.  01. 
Angelopoulos,  6911.,  553  n.,  562-563. 
Animals,  on  bronzes,  175. 

on  tombs,  473. 

on  vases,  1 59. 
Antae,  of  Propylaea,  225,  22S,  230,  231. 

of  Theseum,  414.  4  I  7. 
Antenor,  statues  of  Tyrannicides  by,  13S, 

203,  521. 
Antigonus,  532. 
Antiochus,  520. 
Antiochus  Epiphanes,  486-487. 


5*: 


566 


INDEX 


Antoninus  Pius,  29. 
Aphrodite  in  Parthenon  frieze,  331. 
Aphrodite  Pandemos,  worship  of,  396. 
Aphrodite  Urania,  cult  of,  395-396. 
Apollo  in  Parthenon  frieze,  330. 
Apollo  Patrous,  worship  of,  95-96. 
Apollo,  Pythian,  cult  of,  96. 
Appius  Claudius  Pulcher,  492. 
Aqueducts,  Athenian,  25-29,  108,  139. 
Arcesilaus,  559. 

Arch,  triumphal  (318  B.C.),  481,  524. 
Archermus  of  Chios,  185,  199. 
Architecture,  early  Attic,  177-179. 

Doric,  177-178,  270-281. 

of  Erechtheum,  353,  367-370. 

of  imperialism,  481. 

Ionic,  177-179,  353,  367-370,  375- 

of  Parthenon,  270-2S1. 

of  temple  of  Nike,  375. 

of  Theseum,  411-412. 
Areopagus,  7,  11,  25,  90,  9S-100. 

Court  of,  100,  386,  387,  505. 
Ares,  98,  99,  530. 

(the  god)  in  Parthenon  frieze,  330. 
Argolis,  3. 

Argonauts,  the,  in  paintings,  393. 
Argos,  8,  153. 

Ariobarzanes  of  Cappadocia,  492. 
Aristiues,  139. 
Aristion,  492. 

tombstone  of,  201. 
Aristocles,  201. 
Aristodemus,  71  n. 
Aristogiton,  45,   128,  137,  138,  203,  242, 

473,  545- 
Aristophanes,  43,  69  n.,  94,  106,  107,  172, 

246,  408,  429,  436,  554. 
Aristotle,  399,  474,  482,  528. 
Arrian,  128,  132. 

Art,  athletic  school  of,  203-207,  289-292. 
Artemis,  in  Parthenon  frieze,  330. 
Artemis  Agrotera,  385. 
Artemis   Brauronia,   precinct    of,    55,    84, 

226,  246. 
Asclepiadse,  family  of  the,  431. 
Asclepieum,   the,    23,  98,  115,   425-433, 

53o. 
Asclepius,  reliefs  dedicated  to,  472. 

worship    "t,    98,    115,   140,   246,  398, 

425-433,  473- 
Asia  Minor,  Ionic  architecture  in,  367. 
sc  hools  oi  sculpture  in,  851. 


Athena,  birth  of,  in  sculpture,  304-308. 
contest  of,  with  Posidon,  23,  247-248, 

293,  295-304,  358- 

as  goddess  of  healing,  245. 

in  Nike  frieze,  375. 

in  Parthenon  frieze,  331. 

statuettes  of,  202-203. 

on  temple  pediment,  186-187. 

on  vases  of  Panathenaic  games,  171. 
Athena  Hephasstia,  254. 
Athena  Promachos,  202. 
Athens,  agriculture  of,  5-8. 

beginnings  of,  88-92,  1 25-135. 

building  materials  used  in,  29-35. 

bronzes  from,  1 74- 176. 

census  of,  482. 

climate  of,  3-4,  268,  409. 

commerce  of,  1 4- 1 6. 

decorations    in,    by    foreign    princes, 
482-488,  492-5°3- 

defences  of,  8-14,  506-507. 

drama  at,  433-436. 

early  sculpture  in,  179-186. 

harbours  of,  15-16,  542-563. 

influence  of  Pisistratus  in,  185. 

Ionic  influence  in,  1 78- 1 79,  185,  383- 

384. 
medieval,  560-561. 
modern  town  of,  507,  562. 
occupation  of,  by  Turks,  218,  260-261. 
position  of,  geographically,  4,  73,  542- 

545- 

pottery  of,  152-174. 

sack  of,  by  Persians,  85,  140,  152,  167, 
210,  382. 

school  of  art  in  (sixth  century),  183. 

siege  of,  by  Sulla,  491-492. 

topography  of  early,  141-151. 

treasury  of,  222. 

walls  of,  36,  59-72,  506. 

wards  in,  66,  72,  75. 

water  supply  of,  16-29. 
Attalus  I.,  483-485,  520. 
Attains  II.,  485-486. 
.  I.\  huh  us,  the,  20. 

B 
Bacchylides,  poems  of,  392. 
Bai  is,  "i:it  le  of,  548. 
Balustrade  of  Nike  temple,  377-  380. 
Banquet   <>f  a   hero,  on  tombstones,  432, 
471-472. 


INDEX 


5<57 


Barathron,  the,  65,  66. 

Basilica,  derived  from  "  Basileios,"  386. 

Bastion,  the  Nike,  218,  219,  224,  230,  234- 

235.  374,  376,  397- 
Bates,  W.  \.,  412. 
Bath,  the  bridal,  1 8-1 9,  173. 
Baths,  Roman,  5P4. 

Battle  of  Gods  and  ( iiants,82, 186-187,282. 
Bema,  the,  106-107. 
Birds,  Aristophanes',  246. 
Bceotia,  8,  10,  385. 
Bologna,  head  of  Athena  Hephrestia  at, 

255- 
B>oreas  and  Orithyia,  528. 
Breccia,  as  building  material,  31. 

in    temple    and    theatre    of    Dionysus, 

435,  43^.  45°- 
Brick,  baked,  use  of,  in  building,  29. 

in  walls  of  Athens,  61. 
British  Museum,  Athenian  relics  in,  21S, 

2"3,  336,  355,  374.  4°4- 
Bronze,  lioness  of  (Propyla;a),  242. 
sculpture  in,  201-202. 
statues  in,  erected  by  Attalus  I.,  483- 

484. 
statuettes  of,  202-203. 
Bronzes  from  Acropolis  excavations,  174- 

176. 
Brunn,  169  n.,  201,  301,  309-310. 
Brygos,  136,  167. 
Buleuterium,  the,  126,  131,  134,  137,  390- 

392,  520. 
Bury,  Professor,  237  n. 
Butadse,  the,  362,  365. 
Byzes  of  Naxos,  270. 


Cseneus  in  Theseum  frieze,  413,  418,  419. 

Calamis,  243,  519. 

Calenus,  59. 

Callias,  portrait  of,  521. 

Callicrates,  58,  217,  218,  219,  220,  385. 

Callimachus,  Greek  general,  389. 

Callimachus,  lamp  of,  362. 

Callippus,  portrait  of,  520. 

Callirhoe,   the   spring,    18-23,   25,   27-28, 

120,  141,  143,  149-151,  527- 
Cantharus,  554,  557,  562-563. 
Capitals,  of  early  architecture,  1 77-179. 

of  Erechtheum,  233,  367-368. 

of  Propykea,  232-233. 


Carrey,  drawings  of  Parthenon   by,  260, 

293-304. 
Caryatid  Porch,  the,  238  n.,  355,  356,  360, 

370- 
(  aryatids  of  Erechtheum,  355,  369. 
Cassander,  481,  524. 
Cave  — 

of  Aglauros,  137,  213. 

of  Agraulos,  47,  54,  97. 

of  Apollo,  92-95,  143,  146,  531. 

with   monument   of  Thrasyllus,  403- 
404. 

of  Pan,  146,  531. 
Cavvadias,  92,  95. 
Cecn  ipium,  the,  360-361. 
Cecrops,  520. 
Cellini,  Benvenuto,  349. 
Cemeteries,  pottery  from,  153. 
Centaur  on  vase,  163. 
Centaurs  in  sculpture,  282-291,  413,  417- 

418. 
Cephisodotus,  521,  550. 
Cephissia,  28. 

Cephisus,  the,  7,  16-17,  135. 
Ceramicus,  the,  63,  136,  1 53-154. 

tombs  in,  457-458. 

vases  from,  168. 
"Ceramicus"  as  used  by  Pausanias,  515. 
Cercyon  in  Theseum  frieze,  415. 
Chabrias,  tomb  0^457. 
Cna^ronea,  battle  of,  59. 
Chalcis,  14,  153. 
Charioteer  on  vase,  168,  207. 
Chariots,  in  Parthenon  frieze,  324-325. 

in  Parthenon  pediments,  299-300,  3 1 2- 

314- 
Charon  depicted  on  tombs,  472,  476-477. 
Choiseul-Gouffier,  Marquis  de,  262. 
Chrysippus,  525. 
Chrysostom,  Dio,  57  n.,  69. 
Church  of  St.  Demetrius  Lombardaris,  65, 

457- 
Cicero,  461,  492-493,  526. 
Cimon,  52,  56-57,  211,  212-215,  217,  381, 

383»  386,  392,  422,  456,  523,  55°- 

551- 

(  istern  beneath  Erechtheum,  358-359. 

Cisterns  in  Athens,  25,  98. 
<  ith.eron,  376. 
(lay,  Attic,  63. 

of  the  Ceramicus,  161-163. 
Cleft  of  the  Persian  ascent,  97,  251,  526. 


568 


INDEX 


Cleoetas,  249. 

Cleomenes,  79. 

Cleophon,  237  n. 

Clepsydra,  the  spring,  23-24,  92,  531. 

Clisthenes,  45,  137. 

tomb  of,  457. 
Clitias,  164. 

Cnidus,  battle  of,  59,  557. 
Codrus,  78,  529. 
Codrus  inscription,  the,  66. 
Coins,  statue  of  Athena  on,  214. 

Athena  and  Posidon  on,  248,  298-299. 

Theatre  of  Dionysus  on,  438. 

representing  Zeus  Polieus,  249. 
Collytos,  deme  of,  90. 
Colonos  Agoraios,  the,  422. 
Colonus,  68. 
Colonus  Hippius,  532. 
Colour,  use  of,  in  statues,  187,  191-192, 

195- 
Colours  in  Theseum,  41 2-4 13. 
Columns  of  — 

Erechtheum,  367-370. 

Parthenon,  273-275. 

Propylaea,  386. 

temple  of  Olympian  Zeus,  487-488. 
Confederacy  of  Delos,  216. 
Conglomerate,  building  material,  31,  435, 

438,  450. 
Conon,  59. 

tomb  of,  457. 
Constantinople,    statue     of    Athena    de- 

st  roved  at,  214. 
Corinth,  8,  14,  15,  396. 

battle  of,  458,  465. 

influence  of,  on  Athens,  162  n. 
Coronea,  battle  of,  252. 
Cossutius,  487,  488. 

(  ourt  of  Areopagus,  IOO,  386,  387,  505. 
Cratinus,  21,  395. 
( Iresilas,  244,  255,  256. 
Critius,  138  n.,  203,  246,  417,  521. 
Curtius,  17,  71,  72,  88,  104,  106,  142,  505  n. 

on  identification  of  Theseum,  424. 

on  route  of  l'ausanias,  536. 

on  topography  of  early  Athens,  74-75, 
89  11..  '1 1,  126. 
Curves  in  Parthenon,  271-275. 
<  \.  [opes  as  wall-builders,  39-40. 
( lyllene,  3. 
(  ylon,  44,  79,  103,  l6l. 

statue  of,  252. 


Cylonion,  the,  103. 
Cynsegeirus,  389. 
Cynosarges,  the,  528. 
Cyzicus,  236. 

D 

Dancing-place,  an  early,  1 22-1 23,  433. 
Decelea,  10. 
Deianira  on  vase,  163. 
Deigma,  the  (Pirreus),  550,  554. 
De  Laborde  head,  the,  320-321. 
Delphi,  152-153. 

Cnidian  Treasury  at,  354. 
Demeter  in  Parthenon  frieze,  331. 
Demetrius  of  Phalerum,  461,  481,  482. 
Demosthenes,  173,  452. 

concerning    Apollo    Patrous    of    the 
Athenians,  96. 

on  private  dwellings  in  Athens,  406. 
Deucalion,  527. 

Dexileos,  monument  of,  458,  465-466, 474. 
Diitrephes,  243-244. 
Diogeneion,  the,  483. 
Diogenes,  388. 

Dionysium  in  the  Marshes,  the,  m-113, 
123-124,  141,    142,   143,   I48-149, 

Dionysus,  birth  of,  in  relief  of  Theatre  of 
Dionysus,  451. 
on  choragic  monument,  400. 
dedication  of  house  of  Pulytion  to,  516. 
on  the  Kertch  vase,  297. 
in  Parthenon  frieze,  329.  331. 
early  precinct  of,  m-113. 
state  worship  of,  452. 
Dioscuri,  the.  in  paintings,  393. 
Dodwell,  Henry,  24. 
Doors  of  Erechtheum,  370-372. 
Dorpfeld,    Professor,    17,   81,    116,    122, 
247  n.,  268,  422,  435  n.,  553. 
cited  concerning  — 

Callirhoe,  the  spring,  21. 
I  Fionysium  in  the  Marshes,  m-i  12. 
plan  of  Propylsea,  224,  229. 
rebuilding  of  old  temple  of  Athena, 

210  n. 
rivers  of  Athenian  plain,  17. 
route  of  l'ausanias,  537-538. 
Theatre  of  Dionysus,  444-44S. 
topography  of  early  Athens.  1 42—151. 
1  reasury  on  the  Acropolis,  80. 
excavations  by,  25-27,  108-110. 


[NDEX 


5<>9 


Draco,  161. 

Urania  in  Athens,  138,433-436,  522. 

Dresden,  copies  of  statue  of  Athena  lle- 

phaestia  at,  255. 
I  >romos,  the,  384. 
I  Juris,  167. 

E 
Kehetlos,  389. 

Eetionea,  544,  555,  556,  560. 
Eleusis,.  10,  63,  135,  140,  277. 

black  limestone  from,  35,  231,  372. 

pediments    of    Parthenon     found    at, 
293  n. 

smaller  Propylaea  at,  492-493. 
Eleusinia,  the,  121. 
Eleusinium,  the,  116. 
Elgin,  Lord,  218,  262,  355,  374,  404. 
Elgin  Marbles,  the,  262-263,  315,  355,  374. 
Emporion,  port  of,  562-563. 
Endoeus,  251. 

Enneacrunus,  the  fountain,  18-23,27,  108, 
120,  141,  142,  143,  149-15'.  522> 
535-538- 
Enneapylon,  the,  42. 
Eos  in  terra-cotta  group  above  the  Stoa 

Pasileios,  387. 
Ephebi,  the,  483,  525. 
Ephesus,  179. 
Epidaurus,  Nereid  monument  at,  379. 

theatre  at,  438. 

worship   of  Asclepius  imported  from, 

398,  425- 
Epimenides,  96,  103. 
Eponymi,  the,  392,  520. 
Erechtheum,  the,  23,  80,  213,  233,  236- 

239- 

architecture  of,  353,  367-370. 

as  a  church,  354"355- 

doors  of,  370-372. 

frieze  of,  372. 

inlluence  of,  on  later  work,  353—354. 

marble  used  in  building,  34. 

plan  of,  355-363. 

purpose  of,  361-363. 

restoration  of.  509. 

stone  used  in  frieze  of,  35. 
Erechtheus  520. 

house  of  76-78. 
Eretria  as  a  burying-place,  475. 
Ergotimus,  164. 
Erichthonius,  303,  349,  366,  525-526. 

birth  of,  on  Theseum  pediment,  420. 


Eridanus,  the,  12,  16-17,  24,  63. 
Erinnj  es,  the,  531. 
Errephori,  the,  251,  365,  525. 
Erymanthus,  3. 
Etruria,  vases  found  in,  169. 
Etymologicum  Magnum,  the,  21. 
Eubulides,  516,  517  n. 
Euclides,  238. 

Eumenes  of  Pergamum.  484. 
/■'.tun,  nit/,-:.  .Eschylus',  IOO. 
Euphranor,  388,  519. 
Euphronios,  136.  167,  168,  392. 
Euripides,  92,  436. 

tomb  of,  457,  514-515- 
Eurymedon,  battle  of,  53,  211,  383. 
Euthryphro,  Plato's,  386. 


Farwell,  J.  R.,  ill. 

Fauyel,  262. 

Eemales,  figures  of,  in  Nike  frieze,  378— 

379- 
figures    of,    in    Parthenon    pediment, 
268-269. 
Fergusson,  James,  268-269. 
Festivals  — 

of  the  Anthesteria,  1 1 3,  123. 

of  Dionysus,   90,    113,    124,   141,   395, 

399>  452- 

of  Dionysus  Eleuthereus,  138. 

Iobaccheia,  113. 

Ionic,  95-96. 

of  the  Lenasa,  111-112,  124,  138. 

Tanathenaic,  84,  121. 

of  the  Syncecia,  73,  89. 
S,-c-  (lames. 
Figures,  mourning,  469-470. 

on    Parthenon    pediment,    interpreta- 
tions of,  300-304. 
Findlay,  A.  ¥.,  505. 
Fire,  on  the  Acropolis  (406  B.C.),  23S.  371. 

in  <  Ipisthodomus  ,'404  B.C.),  238,  257. 
Florence,  Francois  vase  at,  163-164. 
food  supply  in  ancient  Greece,  5-8. 
Franks  in  Athens,  60. 
Frazer,  J.  G.,  22  n.,  112  n.,  210  n.,  223  n., 

513  n.,  515  n.,  536,  537. 
Fresco-paintings  of  the  Stoa  Poikile,  38S. 
Frieze  of — 

Erechtheum,  367-368,  372. 

Mausoleum,  403. 


57Q 


INDEX 


Frieze  of — 

monument  of  Lysicrates,  400-403. 
monument  of  Philopappus,  497-498. 
Parthenon,  379. 

stage  in  Theatre  of  Dionysus,  453-454. 
temple  of  Athena  Nike,  218,  234,  375— 

3S0. 
Theseum,  413-419. 
Friezes,  Parthenon,  322-340. 

sculptors  of,  340-343. 
Funerals,  restrictions  on,  460-461. 
Furtwangler,  212,  243  n.,  304  n. 
cited  concerning  — 

copies  of  the  Athena  Hephaestia,  255. 

the  Erechtheum,  363. 

figures  in  Parthenon  pediments,  301, 

3°9.  331"- 
lecythus  in  Propylaea,  244. 
temple  of  Athena  on  Acroplis,  So-81. 


Games,  Olympian,  423. 

Panathenaic,  171,  185. 
Gardens,  district  called  the,  528. 
Gardner,  Percy,  455  n.,  468  n.,  470  n.,  473. 
Gate  — 

Acharnian,  68. 

Beule,  406. 

of  Diochares,  1 7,  24,  67-68. 

Diomean,  68. 

Dipylon,    17,   49-50,    62-64,   68,  127, 

154,384.  387,457.  5*4,  5*5- 

Itonian,  66,  131,  514. 

Melitan,  65. 

Piraic,  64,  65,  515. 

of  Roman  Market,  493-495. 

the  Sacred,  59,  65. 

Thriasian,  63. 
Gate-bouse,  an  early,  55-56. 
1  iates,  Melitid,  456. 
Germanicus,  inscription  to,  496. 
Gigantomachy,  groups  of,  82,  86,  350. 
Gods,  and  <  iiants,  350. 

in  Parthenon  frie/.e,  329-332,  335. 
Gorgons  pursuing  l'crseus,  on  vase,  162- 
[63. 

oi  Mycenaean  period,  115. 
Great  Mosque,  the,  24. 
Gryllus,  the  name,  241. 
Gryphons,    in    sculpture    of   Theatre   of 
I  >ionysus,  440. 


Gryphons,  on  vases,  159. 
Gymnasium  of  — 

Hermes,  516. 

Ptolemy,  4S3,  525. 

H 

Habron,  59,  70. 

Hadrian,  29,  60,  67,   117,  450,488,498- 

5°3,  5o6>  52°- 

Arch  of,  67. 

Library  of,  499,  500,  507. 
Halirrhothius,  98,  99,  530. 
Hall  of  Mysteries,  Fleusis,  481. 
Hand-clasping  among  Greeks,  466-467. 
Hardrada,  Harold,  at  Piraeus,  561. 
Harmodius,  45,  128,  137,  138,  203,  242, 

473,  545- 
Harpocration,  69. 
Harrison,  Miss,  247  n.,  303. 
Hecatompedon,  the,  80,  264,  363. 
Hecatompedos  Neos,  the,  222,  351-352. 
Hegios,  203. 

Heldreich,  Professor  von,  245  n. 
Hephaestia,  254. 
Hephaestus,  at  birth  of  Athena,  305-308. 

in  Parthenon  frieze,  331. 
Hera  in  Parthenon  frieze,  330. 
Heracles,  in  early  pediments,  1 80-183. 

prominence  of,    in  early  monuments, 
86-87. 

in  Theseum  frieze,  414-415. 
Heraeum  of  Argos,  the,  383. 
Hermse,  the,  516,  518. 
Hermes  Street,  388,  516,  517. 
Hermolycus  the  Pancratiast,  247. 
Herodes  Atticus,   35,    60,    146-147,  399, 

405,  5°°>  5°3-5°4,  529,  532- 
Odeum  of,  30,  60,  98,  131,  484,  500, 

5°3-5°4,  5°7>  53°- 
Herodotus,  20,  97,  99,  195,  253. 

concerning  cleft  in  wall  of  Acropolis, 
47  n. 

quoted,  208. 
I  [erondas,  432. 
Herse,  303,  525. 
I  [estia,  390,  391. 

in  Parthenon  frieze,  331. 
Hieron,  the  potter,  136,  167. 
Hill,  of  Curses,  100. 

of  the  Nymphs,  65. 
Hipparchus,  12S,  137,  138. 


INDEX 


571 


Ilippias,  45,  59,  128,  135,  242,  545. 

Hippocrates,  the  physician,  431. 

Hippodamus  ol  M  il  1  us,  384,  549-551. 

1 1  ippolytus,  tomb  of,  530. 

Hippothoon,  520. 

I  [omer,  76-77,  310,  531. 

Iloraj,  in  Parthenon  pediment,  310. 

reliefs  of  the,  200. 
Horologium,  the,  488-491,  533. 
Horses,  in  Parthenon  frieze,  199-200,323- 

325.  33^-339- 

in  Parthenon  pediment,  321-322. 

on  tombstones,  462,  473-474. 
House  of,  Erechtheus,  76-78. 

Pulytion,  516. 
Houses,  Mycenaean,  on  Acropolis,  76,  79. 

pre-Persian,  114-115,  139. 

private,  of  fifth  and    fourth  centuries, 
406-408. 

rock-cut,  73. 
Huddilston,  167. 
Hydra  on  early  pediment,  180. 
Hymettus,  7,  <>,  90. 

marble  from,  1S4. 

I 

Ictinus,  58,  217,  220,  264,  279. 
Ilissus,  the,  12,  16-17,  91- 

bridge  across,  68. 
Iobacchi,  the,  III,  112. 
Ion,  Euripides',  92,  95. 
Ionia,  influence  of,  in  Athens,  383-384. 

See  Polygnotus. 
Iris  in  Parthenon  pediment,  307,  310. 
Italy,  pottery  exported  from  Athens  to, 
169. 

J 

Joints  in  Parthenon,  274-279. 
Justinian,  60. 

K 
Kara,  limestone  from,  31,  79. 

stone  from,  in  temple  of  Dionysus,  122. 

stone  from,  for  water  channels,  26. 
Keats,  quoted,  311. 
Kertch,  gold  plaque  found  at,  349. 

vase  found  at,  296,  349. 
Key  pattern,  the,  155. 
King's  Portico,  the,  386-387. 
Kings,  abolition  of,  in  Athens,  44-45. 

of  Pergamum,  decorations  in   Athens 

by.  483-486. 


Klein,  [67, 

Knights  in  Parthenon  frieze,  323-325,340. 

Koile,  66,  74,  75,  91. 

Kollytos,  113. 

KoXwed/ct,  to,  29. 

KvoaO-qvatov,  the  deme,  91. 


Lacedremonius,  241. 
I  ai  ban  5,  the  tyrant,  482. 
I.aconia,  8. 

Lamp  of  Callimachus,  the,  362. 
Lantern  of  Demosthenes,  the,  403. 
Lantern  of  Diogenes,  the,  403. 
Lapiths  and  Centaurs,  in  sculpture,  282- 
291,  350. 

in  painting,  392. 

in  Theseum  frieze,  413,  417-418. 
Larissa,  the,  9. 
Letena,  242-243,  473. 
Leake,  W.  M.,  47,  57,  68-69. 
Lecythi,  black  silhouette  figures  on,  1 65. 

funeral,  170,  172,  244,  459,  470,  474- 

477- 
Lenreum,  the,  111-112,  124-125. 
Lenormant  statuette,  345. 
Leochares,  519,  560. 
Leon,  tombstone  of,  473. 
Leos,  520. 

Lesche,  fresco-paintings  of  the,  388. 
Lesser  Mysteries.     See  Mysteries. 
Leucippus,  daughters  of,  393. 
Library,  of  Capuchin  monastery,  403. 

of  Hadrian,  499,  500,  507. 

Ptolemy's,  483. 
Light,  question   of,  in   temples,   268-270, 
412. 

in  Parthenon,  337-338. 
Limestone,  from  Akte,  30. 

black    Eleusinian,   in   Propykea,   231- 
232. 

from  Kara,  31,  79. 

Piraic,  in  Odeum  of  Regilla,  503. 

sculptures  in,  182. 

temples  built  of,  179. 

in  Theatre  of  Dionysus,  438. 

in  Theseum,  411. 
Lioness  without  a  tongue,  statue  of,  242- 

243- 
Lions  of  porcelain  from  tombs,  157. 

Livy,  59.  7°>  486. 


572 


INDEX 


Loeschcke,  21. 

Lolling,  Dr.,  422. 

Long  Rocks,  the,  92,  96. 

Long  Walls.     See  under  Walls. 

Lucian,  203-204,  243,  254-255. 

Lusieri,  262,  263. 

Lutrophoros,  the,  173-174,  459,  474. 

Lycabettus,  6,  11,  12,  13,  68,  91. 

rock  from,  29. 

view    of    sixth-century   Athens    from, 

134-136. 
Lyceum,  the,  24,  399,  528. 
Lycia,  wall-building  Cyclopes  from,  39,40. 
Lycius,  241,  246. 
Lycurgus,  31,  398,  407,  434,  44S. 

portrait  of,  521. 

tomb  of,  457. 
Lysander,  58-59. 
Lysicrates,   choragic    monument   of,  382, 

399-403. 
Lyson,  520. 

M 

Madrid,  puteal  at,  306,  310. 

Mahan,  Captain,  50-51. 

Maidens,  in  Parthenon  frieze,  327,  330. 

statues  called,  188,  191-192,  195-200, 
201,  204,  207,  356,  370. 
Mantinea,  battle  of,  in  painting,  519. 
Marathon,  9,  10,  168,  457. 

battle  of,  92,  199,  207,  214,  375-376, 

389.  523- 

spi  'Ms  of,  385. 
Mai  ble,  coloured,  31-32. 

1  [ymettian,  33,  184. 

island,  ^-33. 

Parian,  32-33,  82,  269. 

Pent,  lie,  53    55,  56,212,231-232,503. 

vases  in,  174. 
Marriage  bath,  the,  18-19,  173. 
Mars'  Hill,  IOO. 

Marshes,  quarter  called  the,  112-113. 
Martial,   (49. 
Medusa  on  vase,  163. 

ira,  8. 
Melite,  87,  <io,  113,  422,  424. 
Men  mder,  tomb  of,  457,  514. 
Menidi,  tombs  of,  154,  174. 

nia,  8. 
Metal,  decorative  work  in,  174-176. 
Metal  work  in  statue  oi   Athena  Parthe- 
oos,   149    150. 


Metopes,  absence  of,  from  Propylrca,  233- 
234. 

of  Parthenon,  282-292. 

of  Theseum,  414-419. 

of  treasury  at  Delphi,  168. 
Metrounvthe,  131,  396,  519-520. 
Michaelis,  252  n.,  351. 
Micon,  388,  389»392,393.  525- 
Middleton,  J.  G.,  29,  31,  32,  370  n. 
Miletus,  14,  153,  179. 
Miltiades,  139,  199-200,  214,  389,  456. 
Mnesicles,  224-231. 
Monument  of  — 

Hegeso,  464. 

Lysicrates,  382,  399-403. 

Philopappus,  11,  496-498. 

Thrasyllus,  433. 
Monuments,  choragic,  399-406. 

funeral,  458-461. 
Morosini,  260-261,  321,  373,  506,  561. 
Muller,  O.,  417. 
Munychia,   fortress  of,  59,  71,    135,  544, 

549,  556.  559- 
Murray,  156  n.,  536. 
Museum  Hill,  fort  on,  59. 
Mycale,  battle  of,  247.  250. 
Mycalessus,  raid  on,  243. 
Mycenae,  postern  at,  42. 

pottery  from,  75-76,  157-158. 

walls  of,  39-40. 
Myron.  241,  246,  247,  252,  292,  416. 
Mysteries,  at  Agne  (the  Lesser),  91,  120- 
121,  140,  523. 

Eleusinian,  travesty  of,  516. 

N 

Naples,  statues  in,  203. 

torso  of  warrior  at,  244. 
Naucratis,  1  70. 
Naupactus,  battle  of,  247. 
Navy,  the  Athenian,  51-52,  216,  545-546. 
Naxos,  marble  from,  32-33,  185-186. 

Ionic  capitals  carved  in  marble  from, 
179. 
Nen  ids  at  Epidaurus,  379. 
Nero,  visil  of,  to  Alliens,  450,  496. 
Nesiotes,  138  n.,  203,  246,  417,  521. 
\ess\is  nil  vase,  163. 
Nicetas,  214-215. 

Nil  ias,   234,  236. 

Nike,  in  Parthenon  frieze,  307. 


INDEX 


573 


Nike,  in  Parthenon  pediment,  300,  321. 

Nilsson,  Dr.,  35S. 

Nisus  ol  \iegara,  528. 

Nointel,  Marquis  de,  260. 

Nonnus,  19. 

Nymphs,  reliefs  of  the,  200. 

O 

( tbservatory  at  Athens,  1 1,  64,  65,  66. 
( >deum,  the,  394-395-  522>  4°5- 

of  Herodes  Atticus,  30,  60,  98,  131, 
484,  500,  503-504,  507,  530. 

of  Pericles,  492,  529-530. 

of   Regilla.      See  <  »deum  of  Herodes 
Atticus. 
(  Edipus,  tdinl)  of,  531. 
CEdipus  at  Co/onus,  the,  532. 
t  Enoe,  10. 

battle  at,  388. 
<  Eneus,  520. 
Oil,  as  prize  in  games,  171. 

traffic  in,  494. 
Olive,  Athena's  sacred,  7,  208,  251,  359, 

366. 
(  Hive  groves,  Athenian,  16,  128,  135. 
Olive  trees,  sacred,  170. 
(  Hympia,  1 52-153. 

bronzes  from,  174. 

sculpture  of,  312,  315. 
Olympieum,    the,    13,    21,   116—119,    I35» 
140,  141,  148,   149,  151,  493,  498- 

499.  5*4.  526»  527- 

Opisthodomus    of   Parthenon,    the,    222, 

238,  352. 
tire  in,  238,  257. 
Orchestra,  the,  138,  521-522. 
Orchestra  (dancing-place),  an  early,  122- 

123.  433- 
Orestes,  99,  100,  531. 
Otto  of  Bavaria,  507. 
Our  Lady  of  the  Golden  Cave,  Shrine  of, 

404. 


Painted  Colonnade,  the,  388. 

Painting,    possible   influence   of,  in  Nike 

sculpture,  376-377. 
Paintings,  in  Buleuterion,  520. 

of  Butadae  in  Erechtheum,  362,  365- 

366. 
in  fresco,  388. 


Paintings,  referring  to  Persian  Wars,  3N3. 

in  Stoa  Basileios,  519. 

in  Stoa  Eleutherios,  388. 

in  temple  of  the  Dioscuri,  393. 

in  Theseum,  392. 
Palace  Garden,  the,  26,  67. 
Pallantids  on  Theseum  frieze,  417-418. 
Pin  enus,  388,  389. 
Pandion,  520. 
Pandora    on    basis    of  statue    of   Athena 

Parthenos,  350. 
Pandroscm,  the  (Erechtheum),  236,  239, 

359-  365- 

court  01   251. 
Pandrosos,  303,  525. 
Panops,  the  fountain,  24,  68. 
Parnes,  10,  376. 
Parnon,  3. 
Paros,  marble  from,  32-33,  185,  186,  269. 

Ionic  capitals  in  marble  from,  179. 
Parthenium,  the  herb,  245. 
Parthenon,  the,  80,  177,  366. 

architects  of,  217,  218,  220. 

architecture  of,  270-281. 

the  bank  of  Athens,  222-223. 

beginning  of,  219. 

as  a  church,  258-259,  267. 

completion  of,  221,  257. 

fires  in,  23S,  257. 

foundations  of  limestone,  30. 

friezes  of,  199-200,  322-340,  379. 

lighting  of,  268-270,  337-338. 

marble  used  in  building,  34. 

as  a  mosque,  260. 

origin  of  plan  for  building,  2IO. 

pediments  of,  293-322. 

restoration  of,  510. 

sculpture  of,  281-343. 

substructure    of,    21 1,    220-221,   271- 
272. 

votive  offerings  in,  249-250. 
Pass  of  Daphne,  10,  456. 
Pausanias,  16-18,  21-23,  27,  56,  59,  64, 
97,  120,  134,  146,  214,  240,  242  n.. 
243.  247.  252,  284,  293,  295,  301, 
304,  314,  344,  350  n.,  358,  362. 
392,  422,  424,  453,  458,  481,  496, 

5i'-54i- 
Payment  for  sculptures,  rate  of,  341-342. 

372- 
Peace,  Aristophanes',  408,  554. 
Peace  of  Xicias,  234,  236,  435. 


574 


INDEX 


Pediments,   absence    of,    from    Propyla;a, 

233-234- 
early,  1 78-183. 
of  Parthenon,  293-322. 
of  temple  of  Athena  (old),  S2-83. 
of  Theseum,  419-421. 
Pegasus,  122. 

Pelasgians  in  early  Greece,  39-40. 
Pelasgicon    (Pelargicon),  the,  23,  42-44, 

60,  140. 
Peloponnesian  War,  the,  10,  58,  70,  75,  89, 

227,  239,  376,  398,514. 
Penrose,   F.  C,   117-118,   178,  271,  273, 

385,421  n. 
Pentelicus,  Mount,  2,  6,  9,  10,  II,  135,  376. 
marble  from,  33-35,  212. 
quarries  of,  32. 
Peplos  of  Athena,  the,  ^^^,  365,  531. 
Pericles,  52,  55,  57,  69,  215-218,  223,  226, 

236,  351,  373.  381,  395»  551- 

portrait  of,  255-256. 

tomb  of,  457. 
Perseus,  in  pictures  in  Propylaea,  241. 

on  vases,  162-163. 
Persians,  invasion  of  Attica  by,  45-48. 

sack  of  Athens  by,  85,  208-210,  382. 
Phredrus,  the  archon,  451. 
Phalerum,  16,  23,  51,  57-58,  66. 

harbour  of,  543,  544,  551-553. 

pottery  from,  159. 
Phidias,  215,  217,  224,  226,  315,  340,  342- 

343.  364- 

Athena  Parthenos  by,  344-351. 

first  recorded  work  of,  214. 

statues  by,  246,  248,  250,  253,  254,  395- 
396,  520,  523. 
Phidippides,  92. 

Philip  V.  of  Macedon,  59,  62,  63. 
Philo,  the  architect,  399,  481,  557. 
Philochorus,  362-363. 
Philopappus,  Caius  Julius  Antiochus,  497. 

monument  of,  II,  496-498. 
Philostratus,  145-146,  247,  532. 
Phormio,  247. 

tomb  of,  457. 
Phyle,  64. 

Pictures  in  hall  of  Propylaea,  241. 
Pinacotheke,  the  name,  241  n. 
Pindar,  quoted,  170-171,  305. 

statue  of,  521. 
Pira  us,  2,  51,  72,  542-563. 

harbours  of,  553-555.  562~563- 


Pirceus,  modern  port  of,  15. 

named  Porto  Leone,  561. 

plan  of,  by  Hippodamus,  384,  549-55 1. 

project  for  removing  Athens  to,  215- 
216,  383,  547. 
Pisianax,  388. 

Pisistratus,  18,  44,  56,  81,  83,  96,  114,  117, 
118,  120,  121,  122,  137-138,  177, 
209,  486,  525. 

aqueduct  built  by,  26. 

influence  of,  on  art,  185,  191. 
Pit  of  sacrifice,  the,  97,  98,  426. 
Plataa,  battle  of,  376. 
Plato,  16-17,  24,  69,  386,  396,477,482, 
528,  529. 

geological  theorising  by,  11-13. 

tomb  of,  457,  532. 
Plato,  comic  poet,  457. 
Pliny,  30,  185,  344. 
Plutarch,  56,  106,  258,  350  n. 
riutus,  Aristophanes',  429,  431. 
Pnyx,  the,  11,  12,  90,  103-107. 

water  supply  of,  25-26. 
Polemo,  241. 

Poliorcetes,  Demetrius,  59,  482. 
Polycrates  of  Samos,  26-27,  139. 
Polygnotus,  241,  377,  384,  388,  392,  393, 

524- 
Porcelain,  ornaments  in,  174-175. 
Poros  stone,  30,  179. 

sculptures  in,  182-184. 
Portico  of  — 

Eumenes,  484. 

Hall  of  Mysteries,  Eleusis,  481,  557. 

the  King,  518. 

See  Stoa. 
Porticoes  — 

in  tlie  Agora,  3S6-390. 

of  Erechtheum,  356. 

the  Long,  384. 

of  Propylsea,  225-226,  228. 
Portraits  of  censors,  483. 
Posidon,    contest    between   Athena   and, 
23,  247-248,  293,  295-304,  358. 

cult  of,  363,  365-366. 

salt  spring  of,  23,  77,  359,  366. 
Potters'  Quarter,  the,  63,  90,  136,  154. 
Pottery,  black-figured,  164-166. 

from  early  cemeteries,  153— 154. 

Mycenaean,  75-76,  154. 

Oriental,  159-160,  175. 

Phaleric,  159—161 ,  175. 


INDEX 


575 


Tottery,  prehistoric,  74. 

red-figured,  166-168. 
Praxiteles,  sculpture  on  tomb  by,  462. 

Satyr  of,  403,  529- 

sons  of,  521. 

statues  by,  515. 
Principles  of  Athenian  Architecture,  Pen- 
rose's, 271. 
Procession,  of  the  Mysteries,  63. 

Panathenaic,  45,  no,  133,  137,  514. 

in  Parthenon  frieze,  322-336. 
Processions,  funeral,  on  vases,  156. 
Prodomus,  the,  222. 
Pronapus,  241. 
Propylsea,  the,  23,  30.  34,  35,  217,  386. 

detailed  description,  224-234. 

Tonic  architecture  of,  367. 
Propylsea  at  Eleusis,  492. 
Protogenes,  520. 
Prytanes,  the,  391,  520. 
Prytaneum,  the,  126,  134,  137,  390,  526. 
Ptolemy  (Philadelphus?),  482,  483,  520, 

525- 
Puchstein,  Professor,  444-445,  447. 
Pyrrhus,  the  sculptor,  244-245. 
Pythium,  the,   96  n.,    1 19,   135,    141-148, 

149,  527. 

Q 

Quarries,  Naxian,  32-33. 
Parian,  32-33. 
Pentclic,  33-35,  503. 

R 

Relief  of  the  Graces  (Propytaea),  242. 
Reliefs,  Neo-Attic,  379. 

in  Theatre  of  Dionysus,  449,  450. 

on  tombs,  463-472. 
Kepousse  work  on  antique  bowl,  176. 
Restoration  of  buildings,  question  of,  509- 

510. 
Revett,  261. 
Rhamnus,  277. 
Rhea,  396. 

Rhodes,  resemblance  of,  to  Piroeus,  549. 
Rivers  of  Athenian  plain,  16-17. 
Robert,  298. 
Rock-cuttings,  74-75. 
Rome,  emperors  of,  in  Athens,  491-503. 
Rome,  Middleton's,  29,  32. 
Ross,  218,  374,  381,  507-508. 
Ruskin,  on  horses  in  Parthenon  frieze,  339. 


Sacred  (late.     See  under  (late. 

Sacred    Way,   the,    IO,   63,    135,  136,456, 

5'5- 

Saint  Paul  in  Athens,  504-505. 

Salamis,  3,  135,  217. 

battle  of,  207,  375-37°.  54°,  548. 
Salt    pool    in    Krechtheum,    23,   77,  359, 

366. 
Samos,  179. 

Sandstone,  Athenian,  30. 
Sarcophagi,  s<  ulptured,  461. 

of  Sidon,  354,  470. 
Satyrs  in  sculpture  of  Theatre  of  Dionysus, 

440,  450. 
Sauer,  Professor,  294-295,  304,  307-308, 

410  n.,  414,  420-421. 
Scamander,  marriage  bath  in,  19. 
Schrader,  Dr.,  181  n. 
Scopas,  469. 

Sculpture,    athletic    school    of,    203-207, 
289-292. 

in  bronze,  201-202. 

of  early  temples,  179,  182. 

of  Nike  frieze,  376-377. 

of  Parthenon,  281-343. 
Sculptures  in  poros,  182,  183-184. 
Segesta,  277. 
Selinus,  423. 

Semnae,  shrine  of  the,  103,  535. 
Senate  House.     See  liuleuterium. 
Shield  of  Achilles,  157. 
Ship,  the  Panathenaic,  145-146,  531-532. 
Sicyon,  153. 
Sirens,  in  tomb  reliefs,  473. 

on  vases,  159. 
Z/cew>07j/CT7,  the,  557-558. 
Zklols,  the,  391. 
Smith,  Cecil,  345  n.,  350  n. 
Snake  of  Athena,  the,  297. 
Snakes  in  tomb  reliefs,  473. 
Socrates,  57. 

disapproval   of  private  splendour  of, 
407. 

relief  of  the  Graces  made  by,  242. 

tomb  of,  45  7. 
Solon,  44. 

tomb  of,  457. 
Sophocles,  436,  531. 
Spata,  tombs  of,  154. 
Spata,  174. 


576 


INDEX 


Spenser,  Edmund,  396. 

Sphinxes  in  tomb  reliefs,  473. 

Spun,  21,  260. 

Spring,  a  sacred,  425. 

Springs  in  Athens,  1S-25. 

Stadium,  the,  35,   121-122,  398-399,  503, 

529- 
Stages  in  Greek  theatres,  443-449. 
Statues  of  — 

Agrippa,  495. 

Aphrodite,  243. 

Aphrodite  in  the  gardens,  397. 

Aphrodite  Urania,  395-396,  523. 

Apollo  Parnopius,  250. 

Apollo  Fythius,  527. 

Ares,  397. 

Athena,   188,  213-215,  223-224,  251, 

253.  254,  523- 
Athena  Hephitstia,  254. 
Athena  Hygieia,  242,  244-246,  516. 
Athena  Parthenos,  221,  223,  257,  258, 

267,  343-351,482. 
Athena  Promachos,  215. 
Athena  and  Heracles,  398. 
Athena  and  Marsyas,  247. 
<  ylon,  252. 

Demetrius  of  Phalerum,  481. 
Demosthenes,  521. 
Diitrephes,  243. 
Dionysus,  397,  404,  435,  453. 
Dionysus  Klcuthereus,  122,454. 
Dionysus  Melpomenos,  516. 
Epicharinus,  246. 
Epimenides  of  Crete,  522. 
Eponymi,  392,  520. 
Erechtheus,  252. 
Erechtheus  and  Eumolpus,  252. 
Hadrian,  527. 
I  [ei  ate,  397. 
Hephaestus,  397,  523. 
1 1<  i;i<  I"  -  and  (  Venus,  252. 
Heracles  strangling  serpents,  247. 
I  [ermes  Agoraios,  524. 
I  [ermes  Propylsea,  242. 
Hi  iiiK.lv.  us  tin-  Pancratiast,  247. 
I  [est  11,  390. 
[socrates,  51 5,  527. 
Knights  ion  Acropolis),  240-242. 
I  ■  1  ". 1.  173. 
I. ip        ■  .  493-494. 

Man  1  arrying  a  calf,  ^^,  184. 
Marsyas,  247. 


Statues  of — 

Miltiades,  526. 

Mother  of  the  Gods,  396. 

Pegasus  of  Eleuthera;,  517. 

Perseus,  246. 

Phormio,  247. 

Phiixus  sacrificing  ram,  247. 

Pindar,  521. 

Procne  and  Itys,  248-249. 

the  Ptolemies,  522. 

Pyrrhus,  522. 

Seleucus,  524. 

Socrates,  515. 

Solon,  524. 

the  Sosandra,  243. 

Themistocles,  526. 

Theseus  and  Minotaur,  247. 

Tolmides,  252. 

Trojan  horse,  246. 

Tyrannicides,  128,  131,  137,  138,  203- 
204,  247,  417,  480,  521. 

Xanthippus,  250. 

Zeus,  527. 

Zeus  Eleutherios,  519. 

Zeus  Olympus,  372. 

Zeus  Polieus,  249. 

Zeus  Soter,  387. 
Statues,  erected  by  Attalus  I.,  483-484. 

in  Buleuterium,  520. 

in  the  Propylsea,  242-244. 

in  Stoa  Iiasileios,  518-519. 

in  temple  of  Ares,  521. 

in  Theatre  of  Dionysus,  453. 
Statuette,  of   Athena  Parthenos  found  at 
Patras,  345. 

the  Lenormant,  345. 

the  Varvakeion,  345. 
Statuettes,  202-203. 
Stelae,  113  n.,  459,  475. 
Stephani,  298. 
Stoa,  nl   Attalus,  60,  483,  485-4S6,  507, 

5l8,  525- 
Basileios,  386-387,  422,  505,  518. 
Eleutherios,  387-388. 
<if  Eumenes,  53,  98,  452. 
the  I  ,ong,  560. 
Pcecile  |  Painted  Stoa),  38S-390,  482, 

524- 

Stoics,  the,  390,  524. 

Stones  o|   Violence  and   kuthlessncss,  loo, 

53 1. 
Strain.,  17,  24,  144-MS.  H7»  549.  559- 


INDEX 


577 


Strangford  shield,  the,  345,  350. 
Street— 

I  [ermes,  388,  516,  517. 

Sophocles,  68. 

oi  the  Tripods,  403,  529,  536. 
Streets  in  early  Athens,  108-110. 
Strongylium,  246. 

Stuart,  28,  179  n.,  261,  360,  384,  404. 
Sulla,  59,  62,  64,  395,  487,  491-492,   514, 

529.  559- 

Syra,  port  of,  1 5. 
Syracuse,  153. 


Tarantinus,  20-21. 

Temple,  an  Ionic,  on  the  Ilissus,  179. 

Temple  of  — 

Aphrodite,  528. 

Aphrodite  Euploia,  557. 

Aphrodite  Pandemos,  530. 

Aphrodite  Urania,  395-396. 

Apollo  Delphinius,  527. 

Apollo  Patrous,  422,  519. 

Ares,  521,  531. 

Artemis  Agrotera,  3S4-3S5,  529. 

Artemis  Munychia,  550. 

Aslcepius  at  Epidaurus,  311. 

Athena  (early),  29,  76,  77,  78-81,  103, 
177,  178,  1S1  n.,  209-210,  223,  235, 

363-3»4. 
Athena  Nike,  217-21S,  224,  225,  226, 

234~235.  367.  373-38o. 
Athena  Polias,  356,  362,  364. 
Cronos  and  Rhea,  1 18,  527. 
Delphi,  187. 

Demeter,  121,  3S4-385,  517. 
Demeter  at  Phalerum,  550. 
Demeter  Chloe,  530. 
Demeter,    Persephone,    and    Iacchus, 

515* 

Dionysus,  435. 

Dionysus  Klcuthereus,  1 22-1 23. 
Dionysus    in    the    Marshes,    123-124, 

141,  142,  143,  148-141).  151. 
Dionysus  by  the  Theatre,  31. 
tin-  I  Moscuri,  97,  137,  393,  421  n.,  525. 
Earth,  141,  142. 
Erechtheus,  356. 
Kucleia,  385,  523. 
Hephaestus,  397,  422,  523. 
Hera,  503,  513-514. 
Heracles  in  Melite,  86-S7,  424. 


Temple  of — 
[lithyia,  526. 

Jupiter  Capitolinus  in  Rome,  487. 
1  he  Mother  "I  tin-  '  lods,  519. 
Nike,  55,  179,  385,   , 
Olympian  Zeus,  21,  1 18-119,  141-148, 
423,486-487,  498-499i  527- 

Koine  and   Augustus,  360,  495. 

Sarapis,  526. 

Themis,  530. 

Triptolemus,  522. 

Triptolemus  in  Agrse  (?),  384-385. 

Wingless  Victory,  58. 

Zeu^   I'. inlii  IKnius,  503. 

See  Erechtheum,  Parthenon,  Theseum. 
Temples,    on    Acropolis,    sixth     century, 

83-85- 

in  Athens  of  fifth  and  fourth  centuries, 
384-386. 

Ionic  order  of  architecture  in,  179. 

of  Piraeus,  550. 
Terra-cotta,  the  original,  161-162. 
Theagenes  of  Megara,  26,  139. 
Theatre  — 

of  Agrippa,  495-496. 

of  Dionysus,  26,  30,  98,  123-125,  131, 

395-  398-399,  453-454.  484,  5°7> 
526. 

acoustic  properties  of,  438. 

date  of,  433-436,  447-448. 

as  place  of  assembly,  452. 

seats  in,  438-440. 

question  of  stage  in,  443-449. 

at  Kpidaurus,  by  Kolyclitus,  438. 

the  Great,  98,  382. 
Thebes,  153. 
Themistocles,  61,  135,  212,  213,  383,  506, 

545-549- 
plan  for  building  Parthenon  attributed 

to,  210. 
tomb  of,  457,  559,  560. 
walls  built  by,  50-52. 
Theodoras  of  Samos,  185. 
Theophrastus,  30,  96. 
Theseum,  the.  6,  127,  382,  392-393,  396- 

397,  5 l8- 
architecture  of.  411-413. 
built  by  (imon,  525. 
history  of,  411. 
identification  of,  421-425. 
metopes  of,  289-290,  292. 
Theseus.  73,  78,  127,  137,  498. 


2  P 


578 


INDEX 


Theseus,  in  paintings,  525. 

in  Parthenon  pediment,  309,  315-317, 
320. 

in  statues  on  Acropolis,  252. 

in  terra-cotta  group  above  Stoa  Basi- 
leios,  287. 

in  Theseum  frieze,  414,  416. 

on  vases,  415. 
Thirty  Tyrants,  the,  59,  106,  556. 
Tholus,  the,  126,  134,  137,  390-391,  520. 
Tholus  of  Polyclitus  at  Epidaurus,  426. 
Thoricus,  tombs  at,  154. 
Thrasybulus,  59,  398,  556-557. 

tomb  of,  457. 
Thrasyllus,   choragic   monument   of,  403- 

4°4>  433- 
Thucydides,  8,  27,  113,  119  n.,  216,  256, 
382,  456,  527,  532. 
cited  concerning  — 

the  assassination  of  Hipparchus,  44- 

45- 
the  dress  of  women,  196. 
the  fountain  Enneacrunus,  18-19. 
a  third  Long  Wall,  69-70. 
tombstones  built  into  walls,  49,  64. 
topography  of  early  Athens,  88,  91, 

126,  141-151. 
walls  of  Themistocles,  51-52. 
Ovpwfxa,  to,  371. 
Thymele,  the,  426. 
Timon  the  Misanthrope,  532. 
Timotheus,  341. 
Tiryns,  postern  at,  42. 
remains  found  at,  76. 
walls  of,  39-40. 
Tolmides,  252. 

Tomb  of  Deucalion,  118,  527. 
Tombs,  in  and  around  Athens,  67,  456- 
458. 
reliefs  from,  201. 
sculpture  on,  462-478. 
statues  from,  201. 
vases  from,  1 68-1 70. 
Tombstones,  on  Acropolis,  85. 

fifth  and  fourth  century,  459-460. 
sculptured,  154. 
in  walls,  49,  64. 
Tourkovouni,  2,  6,  1 1. 
Tower,  Krankish,  on  Acropolis,  61,  508 
ol    I  imoii  the  Misanthrope,  532. 
at  Tiryns,  40. 
ol  1  lie  Winds,  24,  488-491,  533. 


Travertine,  30,  31. 
Treasury,  Cnidian,  at  Delphi,  354. 
Trident  mark  in  Erechtheum,  359,  366. 
Tripods,  votive,  399,  404-405,  529. 
Triptolemus,  6. 

Turks  in  Athens,  60,  218,  260-261. 
Typhon  on  pediment,  181,  183. 

U 

University,  so-called,  in  Athens,  483. 

V 
Valerian,  60. 
Varro,  491. 

Varvakeion  statuette,  345,  347. 
Vase,  the  Francois,  163-164,  195. 

the  Kertch,  302. 
Vases,  birth  of  Athena  on,  305-306. 

black-figured,  162-163. 

burial,  1 71-172. 

Dipylon,  154-161. 

funeral,  1 71-172. 

frequency  of  Heracles  on,  87. 

geometrical,  154-155,  157-158. 

in  marble,  174. 

for  the  marriage  bath,  19. 

Oriental,  175. 

Phaleric,  159-161. 

of  pre-Persian  Athens,  136. 

prothesis,  172-174. 

purposes  of,  170-174. 

from  tombs,  456,  458-459,  474-477. 
Vase-painting,      black-figured,      164-166, 
173- 

red-figured,  166-168,  173. 
Victory,  in  hand  of  Athena  Parthenos,  350. 

of  Archermus  on  Delos,  199. 
Victories,  flying,  199. 

in  Nike  frieze,  378-379. 
Vitruvius,  25,  61,  268,  452,  4S7,  488,  4S9, 

491. 
Votive  offerings  in  Parthenon,  249-250. 
Votive  tripods,  529. 

W 

Waldstein,  Charles,  281  n.,  311. 
Wall  — 

Cimonian  (of  Acropolis),  30,  52-56. 

I  [adrian's,  67,  68. 

the  Pelasgian,  29,  37,  42-44,  55,  211, 
212,  217,  230,  231. 


i.\i)i:x 


579 


Wall  — 

supporting,  of  Parthenon,  211. 

of  the  Pnyx,  105-106. 
Walls  — 

the  Long,  36,46,  56-60,  65-66,  71—72, 
215,  219,  383,  514,  547. 

of  Themistocles,  50-52,  64,  67. 
Water-clock  in  Tower  of  the  Winds,  4X9. 
Water  supply,  Athenian,  61,  108. 
Wilier  head,  the,  320-321. 
Wells  in  Athens,  24,  25,  108. 
Wheler,    21,    120,    218,    260,    321,    373, 

554  n.,  560-561. 
Winds,  the,  in  sculpture,  4S9-490. 
Wine-press,  an  early,  iio-in,  140. 
Women  depicted  on  tombs,  478. 


X 

Xanthippus,  250. 
Xenophon,  70,  238,  407. 

the  name,  not  uncommon,  241  n. 
Xerxes,  removal  of  statues  by,  128,  138  n., 
203,480,521. 


Zappeion,  the,  504. 

Zea,  harbour  of,  554,  558,  562-563. 

Zeno,  390,  482,  524. 

Zeus,  in  Nike  frieze,  375. 

in  Parthenon  frieze,  329. 
Zeus  Eleutherios,  387-388. 
Zeus  Soter,  387-388. 


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